Smart Fools
by BookWorm37
Summary: Even the smartest people on Earth can be so foolish when it comes to love. Set sixteen years after Daniel's ascention at the end of season five. Genre set for later chapters. COMPLETE!
1. Birthday Surprise

A/N: Okay, this is a story I've had up my sleeve for a while, I was hoping to finish it before begining to post but I've grown weary of having nothing to work on when I get home as I try to delay doing my work. I hope you all like it!

It's set AU after Daniel's ascention - very important for later on.

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Jonathan looked down again at the old picture in his hands, tears forming in his eyes. "It's our fifteenth birthday, Dad," he whispered to the worn picture of a young man in his Air Force dress blues. "Mom says I look exactly like you. I'm not so sure, though. I miss you so much, especially at moments like this." He sat there for a while longer, writing down his words in the book in his lap, letting his tears flow freely. "Esther is _so_ smart, so good with languages. I know you'd be proud of her. Abagail looks just like Mom. Apparently her temper and attention span rival yours though, but all the teachers say she's a genius. And then it comes down to me, Dad. I don't know what to tell you about me today. I told you before that I'm not that smart, but I do like to put things together. Mom says that's just like you. Mom also said that I could take the GED next year and go into the Air Force. I really want to, I want to make you proud of me. I love you, Dad." 

Jonathan was pulled out of his writing by the sounds of the door opening, and his sisters and mother entering. He quickly put the book and picture away in their hiding spot, as he wiped the tears from his face – he was a man, _men did not cry. Carter's don't cry_.

"Jonathan!" He heard his sister, Abagail call from down stairs. "We got chocolate trope and the original _Batman_! Will you please come down?"

The young man smiled; yeah this was his life – being asked to go downstairs for a very rich chocolate cake and his favorite movie. His sisters must really be trying to make him feel appreciated and loved; they both had a distinct distain for that movie.

"I'll be down in a minute!" he called back. Very quickly he checked his unruly dark brown hair in the mirror, cropped prematurely in a military haircut. He raced down the stairs and nearly plowed into one of his sisters – Abagail.

"Slow down, JJ!" The blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty complained, as she gracefully walked up the stairs. She truly was the spitting image of their mother, right down to the short hair that was cut in a little longer version of her brother's.

"Maybe you should actually look where you're going, Abby!" The third sibling shot from the kitchen, where she was helping their mother put away the groceries. Esther was the perfect combination of both her parents. She had the most beautiful shade of golden honey hair that went down to her waist, and a pair of sparkling brown eyes that had the tendency to grow so dark they were almost black when she was angry.

"Nobody asked you, Esther!" Abagail shouted down from the top of the stairs. As the oldest of the triplets, Abagail had the unfortunate side effect of being ignored by her siblings. It seemed that Esther and Jonathan could do almost everything together, leaving Abagail to be alone. Of course, this was really just hormones and sibling rivalry talking. The three were practically inseparable.

"Stop arguing!" their mother called from the kitchen with Esther. "And hurry up and get into the dining room, I only bought _one_ cake this year so you guys _can't _blow out your candles separately like you did last year."

A few minutes later found all three fifteen-year-olds sitting side by side, at the family's well-used dining room table. Abagail set a picture of their father down in the middle, as was the tradition, as their mother turned off all the lights and brought in their birthday cake.

After 'Happy Birthday' was sung three times for each of the three siblings, they grabbed each other's hands and blew out the candles together, like always. All four cheered and Jonathan started cutting the cake while their mother turned the lights back on.

The dining room light had just come back on when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Esther offered as she got up to see who it was. On the other side of the door was a face she had never expected to see, except in pictures.

The middle-aged man that stood before her had the look of a greatly loved uncle. "Um, hi," he said. "Is this the residence of Samantha Carter?"

Esther stared wide-eyed at him and could only nod. Her mother came out of the back, "Esther? Who is it?" she asked as she walked up behind her daughter. Esther moved out of the way so the man on the other side could see her mother.

"Hi Sam," the man said when he saw her, relieved that he'd gotten the right address. "Is this a bad time?"

Sam shook her head, not so shocked by his appearance as her daughter had been but equally surprised to see him. Briefly she remembered that she hadn't told her children about his return; "No, actually we were just sitting down to cake and coffee if you want to join us, Daniel."

"You've always known the way to my heart, Sam," the archeologist said with a forced smile as the three of them moved back into the dining room. When they arrived, Daniel stopped as he took in the three children together after Esther reclaimed her seat in between her sister and brother.

"Kids," Sam started, "This is one of my friends that I told you about, Daniel Jackson. Daniel, these are my children Abigail Janet-Lee, Esther Theresa, and Jonathan Jacob."

The teens could see the wheels turning inside Daniel's mind as he began to process everything that he had just found out. He spotted the picture on the table and Abigail's hand went to cradle it protectively as if she thought Daniel would take it away.

"Who's that?" he asked in reference to the photo.

"You know who it is, Uncle Daniel," Jonathan said lowly. Just like his father, the young lad was very territorial when it came to his sisters and his mother.

The older man shot him a quick glance. "Yes, I do, but who is he to _you_."

"Dad," all three answered simultaneously.

Daniel looked at Sam who suddenly found her shoes very interesting, "That's what I thought." He thought about it for a minute before adding, "That's why you left." It was a statement of fact, not a question.

Sam looked into Daniel's eyes and he saw how much she was hurting, "Can we please just sit down and have some birthday cake?"

"Birthday?" the man asked curiously.

"Today is their fifteenth birthday," Sam replied proudly.

Daniel smiled genuinely for the first time in months, "Well, happy birthday to you all."

Esther smiled sadly, remembering who else was born on that day, "Thanks, Uncle Daniel."

"What's up with the 'uncle' part of all that?"

"Mom always called you our uncle, just like she always referred to him as our dad. It's just the way we grew up," Abigail replied.

"What would you like in your coffee, Uncle Daniel?" Esther asked as she stood to fill his cup and the cups of her two siblings. Esther herself found that she couldn't stand the taste of the dark liquid.

"Just black, thank you."

"Here you go." When she sat back down again Daniel took drew a long breath in, taking in the aroma of the freshly brewed pot. "So, not to be rude or anything, but what are you doing here at 0930 on a Sunday morning?" the girl asked as she sipped her green tea.

Daniel sighed and put the mug down. "Sam, they're going public."

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A/N: So? Any hope for an ol' story like this? Review please and maybe I'll try and find the time to update soon for all of you.  



	2. More Unexpected Visitors

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews. I really appreciate your thoughts. Please keep it up! With daily rehearsals and a whole bunch of stuff besides I need the support.

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_Daniel sighed and put the mug down. "Sam, they're going public."_

The woman sitting beside him didn't even need to ask what he was talking about. "And, what does that have to do with me? I left everything related to the SGC behind a long time ago. I'm a physics teacher at an university for Pete's wake!"

Daniel raised an eyebrow at the exclamation, but said nothing concerning it. Instead he answered her question; "The president wants you back as head of the science department. He feels that it would be a good move to have a friendlier face for the SGC than our current CO."

"Who's the CO now?" By the look in Daniel's eyes she already knew the answer, "Oh God, no! There was a _very_ good reason behind my actions sixteen years ago that I _don't_ expect him to understand. I'm not going back just to be the 'friendly face' of the SGC. Get one of our humanoid allies or _Kerry Johnson_," she spat out the woman's name like it was a curse…which, in their house it was.

Daniel was shocked that Sam would mention such a classified matter in the presence of civilians. "Uh, Sam? It didn't go public _yet_."

"We already know about it, Uncle Daniel," Jonathan explained. Abigail gripped the table as if it was her only connection to life as a glazed expression crossed over her face and her breathing almost completely stopped.

"Esther, go get her panic attack medication," Sam ordered as she watched her son try and elicit some response from her daughter. When Abigail finally took in a sharp, rigid breath fear and horror covered her eyes.

"What did you see?" Esther asked her kindly as she passed her two pills and a glass of water.

"Fire. Screams." The frightened girl replied swallowing the pills before downing the water as her eyes welled up with tears she refused to let fall. "More pain than when Dad was tortured by Ba'al. There were so many screams, so much death. Mommy, it was war."

"What else did you see, sweet heart?" Sam coaxed gently, scared out of her mind that what her daughter had seen would come to pass, yet refusing to let her children see that fear in her eyes.

Abby closed her eyes to stop the tears. "There were soldiers dressed in Jaffa armor and staff weapons." Her streaming eyes found her mother's face, "They bore the mark of Ba'al. They set fire to so many cities and homes. It was so bloody. So very bloody."

Jonathan and Esther hugged their sister tightly, trying to bring her thoughts back to reality. "I think we should watch _The Princess Bride_ before _Batman_," Jonathan said quietly, doing the little he could to take away the pain his sister felt, before going into the other room to set up the movie.

That was the one thing all of them knew too well – pain. The one thing they couldn't share. Esther had her private pain that her siblings knew but couldn't help with; Abby had her pain that came with her visions, only lessened by sharing it with her mother and siblings; and the pain JJ suffered from was that he wasn't able to protect his sisters and mother from their pains.

"Sam, what the hell was that?" Daniel whispered fiercely, as the three teens got ready for the movie in the next room.

"Abigail gets premonitions – sometimes just hints of feelings and such, other times strong ones where she can even _smell_ what's happening. This was a relatively large one – the worst was when Ba'al captured Jack, she couldn't eat or sleep for five days without help. Esther is telekinetic and Jonathan is telepathic. When I contacted Thor shortly after their birth he said it was a mixture of the naquadah in my blood, and Jack's Ancient gene that caused the abilities to take root."

Before Daniel could fully process what he had just been told, there was another knock on the door. "I'll get it!" Esther called on her way to the door. When she opened it she squealed in delight at who lay in wait on the other side.

"Grandpa George!" she cried in joy as she flung herself into his arms.

"Esther," General George Hammond chuckled as he embraced his honorary granddaughter with as much ferocity as she gave him. "It's good to see you again."

"You just saw me last week!"

At the proclamation that it was their _Grandpa_ _George_ at the front door, Abby and JJ both dropped what they were doing and jumped into his waiting embrace. When Sam came into the living room to find out what all the commotion was about, she laughed outright. There in the doorframe stood one General George Hammond being squashed in the middle of three over excited fifteen year olds.

Daniel, who was just getting over the shock phase of finding out about the triplets abilities, was pulled straight back into a state of shock at the sight of Hammond being so affectionately greeted by the teens.

Hammond spotted the young man and with a few quiet words to the three 'monkeys' attached to him, he was able to disentangle himself from their arms and walk over to Daniel while the younger man perfected his impression of a fish.

"Hello, son," the general said calmly. "I see you got my letter."

Daniel was barely able to respond, "What letter?"

"The one with Sam's address on it."

"That letter had no return address on it. It didn't even have a _name_ on it to tell us who it was from!" Daniel cried.

Sam looked at the younger man pointedly, "I _asked_ him not to put a name on it. George would be thought a traitor if everyone knew right away that _he_ knew where I was for the past twelve years. I didn't want him to risk all of his friendships over that."

Abby chose this moment to intervene, "Mom? Uncle Danny? Grandpa? Can we _please_ save this conversation until after at least the _first_ movie? I want to see Indigo beat the crap out of the count."

George chuckled, that girl was so much like her father, "Sure, Abby. I take it we're watching _The Princess Bride_ first?"

Abby grinned, "Yep!"

"What other two movies are we watching today?" he inquired with amusement.

"_Batman_. The original one, _not_ any of the newer ones," Jonathan replied, pretending to be grossed out at the newer movies.

"What about you, Esther?"

"I can't decide between _The Ninth Gate_, _The Major and the Minor_, or _Masada_." The girl turned to her uncle, "What do you think, Uncle Daniel?"

Daniel felt very honored that the girl had asked his opinion. "I think that I can't believe that Sam would ever let you watch _The Ninth Gate_, I've never seen _The Major and the Minor_ or _Masada_. So, when choosing between two movies I've never seen before…choose the one that has better action scenes."

Esther giggled, "That would be _Masada_, Uncle Daniel. Don't worry – you'll like it. It's got _history_ in it."

The two former members of SG-1 made themselves comfortable on the loveseat, while George and the three teens squeezed onto the sofa. It was a tight fit, but everyone was comfortable throughout the entire movie.

As it happened every year, Abby burst into tears as soon as Wesley started being tortured and when he 'mostly died'; JJ mouthed the words during Indigo's fight with the Count; and Esther made fun of the priest when his scene came on.

The small family was just finishing the first movie, when another knock at the door brought everyone back to the present. This time it was JJ who answered it.

The man and woman on the other side were greatly taken aback at the appearance of a young man who looked so much like Jack O'Neill. "Hi, Uncle Teal'c, Aunt Janet," the boy said, his voice raising slightly so those inside could hear him. "Won't you come in so we can explain all this to you?"

"Indeed," was the stoic Jaffa's only answer. Janet just stared, unable to say anything.

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A/N: Dun dun dun! Wanna know what happens next? Only my beta and I know the rest of the story - and I doubt most of you know who she is! Blast! I reveiled her gender! Blast! There I go again! Anywho, review and I'll see what I can do about posting again soon.  



	3. Relationships

A/N: I spoil all of you guys too much. But here's the third chapter anyway. Hehehe. Don't get mad at me for the relationships revieled here - I HAVE MY REASONS! Oh, and don't get in the habit of expecting daily updates - I won't always be this nice or have this much time.

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_"Indeed," was the stoic Jaffa's only answer. Janet just stared, unable to say anything._

In half an hour Teal'c and Janet Fraiser were caught up on the 'need to know' subjects of the day – who the triplets were, why Hammond was there and what Sam had been doing the past sixteen years…mostly.

When Sam had finished her censored extraordinary tale, she turned to Janet. "So, Jan? What have you been up to?"

Janet looked down at her left hand, where a gold wedding band and engagement ring were. "I got married, thirteen years ago." Tears filled her eyes, "We looked so hard for you in those six months before the wedding."

Sam felt tears fill her own eyes, "Yeah, I didn't have access to a telephone during those first three years." At the mention of that time, all three triplets got up from their positions around their 'grandfather', and repositioned themselves around their mother. Esther sat on Sam's left, JJ stood behind her, and Abby sat on her right side.

Sam smiled reassuringly at them, "So, Janet, who did you marry?"

Janet smiled and glanced at the dark man at her side, "Teal'c." Sam's eyes widened a little in shock at the announcement, although she wasn't really surprised. She'd seen the spark between the two and had been the one that Janet had ranted to about the black giant that had stolen her heart.

"Do you have any children?" Abby asked, curiously. She had known about the hidden tension between Janet and Teal'c as well, from stories her mother told them. It had been _very_ well hidden, but Abby had picked up on it right away.

Teal'c smiled – something that Sam hadn't seen him do more than five times in the years that she'd known him. "We have eight children. Patrick Menno is twelve years old, Samantha Alanna is eleven, Raoul Michael and Luke Stephan are nine, Dallas Scott is eight, Gilbert Alexander is seven, and Marigold Alice and Jane Constance are both five."

Sam was shocked; "You named your daughter after me?"

Janet shrugged while Teal'c answered, "We could have found no one more worthy to be the namesake for our eldest daughter."

Sam smiled warmly; "I guess I never fully introduced you both to the kids. This is Abigail Janet-Lee, Esther Theresa and Jonathan Jacob."

"Did you give them their father's last name?" Teal'c asked solemnly.

"Yes," Esther answered for her mother, "Our last name on our birth certificates is 'O'Neill', but at school we go by 'Carter'. Mom said it would cause less suspicion for Dad's enemies and hers."

The doorbell rang for the second time in as many hours. Esther rose to answer it and when she saw who was on the other side she turned and looked at everyone in the room before settling on her mother.

"Mom, it's Henry. I'll only be a few minutes," Esther promised.

Sam nodded at her daughter, "That's fine. Actually, if you like, you can invite him to come in and meet your uncles and aunt."

The young girl nodded before going onto the front porch and closing the front door softly behind her.

"Hey, Henry," she said as her boyfriend enveloped her in a hug hello.

"Hey, Es, how's your birthday been?" the tall redhead said, releasing his girlfriend without letting go of her hand.

Esther smiled, "Pretty good, actually. Some of my uncles and one of my aunts that my mom always talks about came over. They've been catching my mom up and we've been letting them in on some of the last sixteen years. Mom said that you could come in and meet them if you want. Grandpa George is here too, I know that you two got along rather well the last time you saw him."

Henry looked a bit hesitant, "Are you sure that's okay with you, Es?"

She nodded, "Yes, actually I _want_ you to meet them."

He nodded, "Fine, I'll meet them if it's what _you_ want."

Esther smiled and kissed his cheek before opening the door and leading him inside. "Okay, Grandpa George, I know you already know Henry, as does Mom, Abby and JJ, but the rest of you don't. So Uncle Daniel, Uncle Teal'c and Aunt Janet, this is Henry. Henry this is my Uncle Daniel, Uncle Teal'c and my Aunty Janet."

"What are your intentions toward my niece, Henry?" Teal'c said after a few moments of silence.

Henry panicked, "I uh, I, uh… Esther!"

Esther laughed, "Just answer honestly, Henry. He won't hurt you unless you give him a reason to."

The young man gulped, not liking that response from his girlfriend _at all_. "Uhh, only honorable, s-sir."

Daniel nodded, "You know if they weren't we'd feel obligated to first show you how many different methods of torture we know then inform her father so he could show you all that _he_ knows."

Sam scolded Daniel and Teal'c with a look, "You will do no such thing Daniel. Henry already knows all the consequences he will face if he hurts Esther. I _happen_ to be his summer school teacher."

George decided that it was time to put Henry out of his misery by changing the subject. "So, Henry? How's it going with school and work? That job working out all right?"

Henry nodded, "Yes sir, it's nice to actually be given a challenge at a job like that. Thank you for allowing me to use you as a reference. School is going the same, as always, science is remaining my best subject, English my worst. Ever since I've started having Esther help me with math my grade's gone up, though. Same with history. She just has a way of putting it into plain English that our teachers don't have."

George smiled warmly, "That's good. I'm glad things are going well."

"Wait," Janet asked, "If science is your best subject then why are you taking it in summer school?"

"Because Dr. Carter is offering advanced physics in summer school and I took physics last year in high school. Not to mention that I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't have science in my life even for a short time."

Janet nodded, understanding entirely, "Well, in that case I approve of your choice, Esther."

"Indeed."

Daniel shook his head thoughtfully, "I don't know. You just said history was boring. That's not something I can easily get over."

Henry looked to Sam for clarification, "He's an archeologist, anthropologist and speaks over twenty languages."

"Thirty-eight languages to be precise, Sam."

"All inclusive?" she asked, curiously.

The other man shook his head, "All inclusive it's up to forty-two."

Henry looked at his watch and sighed, "I've got to go, Esther. They have me working in the lab in half an hour."

Esther pouted slightly (a pure Carter-pout), "You have to work on my _birthday_?"

The young man sighed, "Yes, I'm sorry, but they called me this morning and told me Anne had gotten sick last night and can't come in today. I need to go." He grinned slyly, "In exchange I get Thursday off, though."

Esther nodded; glad that he would be free on one of her most traumatic days. She sighed sadly, "_Fine_, go have fun playing with your doohickeys."

Henry laughed and bent down to give her a quick kiss but her finger stopped him, "You know how I feel about that, Henry. Now go to work."

The young man grinned playfully before saying "Yes, ma'am," as he walked out the door.

Esther sighed again as she turned from the door and found the three new guests looking at her strangely, "What?" she asked, annoyed, "I don't like kissing him in front of other people. PDA can be disturbing on _so_ many levels."

Daniel shook his head, "No, it's not that. But you said 'doohickey'. You're father said that every time he caught your mother in her lab when she wasn't supposed to be."

Esther shrugged, "Mom told me that after the first time she heard me say it. She's always said I was the most like Dad."

"Come on," JJ spoke up, "It's _Batman_ time!"

"What is a Batman?" Teal'c asked.

Janet hit him playfully in the side, while the three children looked dumbfounded at their uncle. "Jaffa humor," Janet said simply.

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A/N: So? What think you? Wanna find out more? Please review - and don't yell at me for having Janet and Teal'c get married - in this story Danny ends up with Sarah Gardener...well, Sarah Jackson.  



	4. A Story Revealed

A/N: Once again, thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews. They really are a great help! ...not to mention ego boost!

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_Janet hit him playfully in the side, while the three children looked dumbfounded at their uncle. "Jaffa humor," Janet said simply._

All throughout the movie, JJ was paying rapt attention, and Abby and Esther had glazed over looks on their faces. Finally, half way through the movie JJ looked over at his sisters and said sharply, "Will you two just _shut up_?"

Abby looked at him innocently, "It's not our fault that you chose a boring movie that neither of us likes. If it's bugging you that much – just tune us out."

JJ growled low in his throat and turned his attention back to the movie.

After the action flick was over, Esther turned to her mother, "I think it's time for more cake." In his head, Teal'c thought that Esther was most like Jack O'Neill in personality.

* * *

When more cake had been consumed and _Masada_ viewed, Janet and Teal'c left to get back home to their children, whom they had boldly left in the care of Jack. Daniel was about to leave when Abby asked him where he was staying. 

"I was going to get a room at the hotel down the road," he said, glancing between the three women.

Sam, Abby, and Esther all said, "No you're not," simultaneously.

"You can stay here, we have a guest room with an Egyptian theme," JJ piped up.

When accommodations had all been sorted out (Hammond was living just twenty minutes away) George looked at the three children in turn. "I think it's time that I put you all out of your misery and gave you your presents," he said seriously.

"Presents?" Esther piped up. "Where are they?"

George laughed at the girl before handing her his car keys, "They're in the trunk. You'll know as soon as you see them."

Two minutes later Esther returned with a rather large box containing three smaller boxes. She set it down on the coffee table in front of her grandfather and sat down by her siblings.

Hammond reached inside and pulled out the box marked, 'JJ'. The boy nodded in response and began tearing it open. Inside lay a BDU jacket with the name 'Col. J. O'Neill' emblazoned on it.

"It was one of your father's BDU jackets while he was commanding SG-1. I have high hopes that one day you'll have that same title." JJ gave his grandfather an affectionate hug before donning the jacket.

Next came Abigail's present. Inside of her box was a hockey jersey autographed by her favorite player. She hugged him with the same affection her brother had given George before also donning her gift.

Esther was last, mostly because she always chose to be, and what she found inside of her box brought tears to her eyes – two things, the first was an arrowhead necklace with the point of origin for Earth carved into the center, it was made out of trinium and kid skin straps, the second gift was an early acceptance letter to the University of Oxford in a silver frame.

"Thank you so much, Grandpa," she said giving him a hug for all she was worth after passing the letter on to her mother and Daniel.

Daniel whistled, impressed by the letter, "Wow, George! How many strings did you have to pull to get this through?"

Hammond smiled, "You don't want to know. And it was all worth it to see that look on her face. All of this was – just to see the looks on their faces when they got their gifts. It's what grandfathers do."

So it was, in this state that Hammond left them because of the late hour – 2200 hours.

The triplets went to bed soon after he left, claiming exhaustion from the emotionally long day. That left Sam to show Daniel where his room was, and where the closest bathroom was before the two of them sat down to talk over coffee.

"So, Sam," Daniel started, "You want to talk?"

Sam nodded, "It's been hard for all of us. Especially those first four years. Not telling Jack that I was pregnant was a stupid act of selfishness – but I didn't want his career to suffer because of my 'situation'. So I left. I can't tell you much about those first four years; it still hurts to even think about them." She looked up from her coffee and into Daniel's baby blue eyes, "I started off at my brother's house, but then I moved out when you guys got too close for comfort. I spent a few weeks in a shelter near Denver, and there I met a police officer named, Pete." Tears began to fall, "Moving in with him was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made – apart from leaving in the first place. I left the first time his guard was down and there was a chance for escape. It took me _four_ _years_ in hell to find my chance and have the courage to take it."

Daniel reached his arm across the table and gently squeezed Sam's hand. "It's okay, Sam, that's all over now."

Sam shook her head, "I know, but it's just so hard sometimes. Anyway, after we got out, I found General Hammond in Washington D.C." She smiled fondly remembering the day, "You should have seen his face when I showed up on his doorstep twenty pounds lighter than when he last saw me, carrying Abby with Esther and JJ walking beside me. The first thing he did was buy us some new clothes – Pete wouldn't even give the children that much. After that he took us out to get a real meal." Sam shook her head sadly, "That was the first hot meal any of them had ever had, and the first _I_ had had in three and a half years."

She sighed, taking a long drink of her coffee; "We stayed with Hammond for about two years. He was there when Abby finally came out of her shell and said her first word at three and a half. He was there when JJ got scared when he had a bad dream and wet the bed – Pete would beat them when they did that. George was even there to coax Esther to eat from a plate when all she had eaten before came from the ground with Pete. George helped us so much."

Daniel was enraged at the monster being laid bare before him with Sam's words. He wanted to send Pete to Ba'al's homeworld and let Ba'al know that Pete was Tau'ri.

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A/N: Okay, the plot is going to be starting in the next chapter - this one was really just so you all knew what the set up was. Review please. Man, I wish more of you would review...hint, hint.  



	5. Scream in the Night

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews. But I'm a little disappointed that not more of you are reviewing. I'd update a lot faster if more of you reviewed...hint, hint.

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_Daniel was enraged at the monster being laid bare before him with Sam's words. He wanted to send Pete to Ba'al's homeworld and let Ba'al know that Pete was Tau'ri._

Sam was 'saved' having to continue by the sound of a scream ripping through the still night air. Her eyes went wide; she had only ever heard her daughter scream like that for one reason and only one – Pete. Sam quickly rose from her seat, followed closely by Daniel, and raced up the stairs. She stopped first in the stairwell to grab a gun from behind a picture before continuing on into Esther's room.

Sam stopped just outside the door, waiting to hear if the screams were coming from that bedroom. When she heard a muffled sob come from behind the closed door she quickly opened it and stepped inside to find one of her worst nightmares being played out before her eyes – again.

Esther moaned again from her bed, sporting a black eye and a ripped shirt. She rolled over onto her stomach, giving Daniel and Sam a clear view of the newly formed, angry gash spouting forth blood on her back. Abby and JJ were by their sister's side, trying to comfort her.

Abby looked up when she heard her mother enter the room. Tears filled her eyes, "He got away. _Again_."

Sam quickly searched the rest of the room and the two connecting rooms belonging to Abby and JJ – she found them both empty.

She sighed in relief and frustration as she came back to Esther's bedside to see how bad the wounds were.

Daniel, who had the same idea in mind, turned to Sam as she approached. "We need to get her to the hospital now. That gash on her back is real nasty, and her black eye isn't much better." He hesitated before adding, "This isn't the first time this bastard's done this to her is it, Sam?"

Sam shook her head, "No. He always finds us. Always." She grabbed the phone off of Esther's nightstand and dialed Hammond's number. "Hi, George? _He_ found us again. No, Esther's not as bad as last time, I think. But he did reopen the gash – it's deeper this time." She closed her eyes and breathed a shaky sigh of relief, "Thank you. We're in her room. Yeah, we'll be there when you get here."

Daniel looked quizzically at Sam, but it was JJ who answered, "Last time, he left her with five broken ribs, the original gash, a burn in the shape of a Swastika on her abdomen, two black eyes and numerous scrapes and bruises." His eyes grew dark as he remembered, "That bastard had her for _two days_ before we found her."

Daniel shuddered just imagining the state Esther must have been in. He knew from experience that as soon as Teal'c found out he would go into complete Jaffa revenge mode until that mik'ta had suffered as greatly as Esther had. And when Jack found out about it… well, this Pete fellow would find out first hand how many different ways to torture, maim and inflict pain on a person Jack had learned over the years – especially from black ops.

Sam could see the anger boiling under the surface of Daniel's skin, and she wanted to comfort him so much. But she couldn't. She couldn't comfort the man she'd grown to love as a brother while she felt the same anger and hatred welling in her own soul.

"Come on," Sam motioned for Abby to come with her. "Let's go wait for your grandfather."

Abby nodded and silently followed her mother down stairs, tears running down her cheeks. This was the one thing that she couldn't relate to her sister in. Pete had been _almost_ _kind_ to her. Abby still had to suffer the affects of the beatings inflicted upon Esther through their telepathic connection, but that wasn't nearly as bad as what Pete did to her and their mother.

Abby's baby blue silk pajamas had some of Esther's blood smeared on the front, but she still was quite a sight for the young paramedics who arrived a few minutes later to whisk Esther away to the hospital.

* * *

At the hospital, Daniel, Sam, JJ and Abby all waited anxiously for the doctor to come back out and tell them news. Hammond arrived about ten minutes after they did and joined in their 'pacing race'. 

When Dr. McLory came out from her latest inspection of Esther O'Neill, she found a sight that had greeted her many a time before. There was just one exception to this time – there was a man pacing with the young girl's family that she'd never seen before.

Thinking the man was the infamous father of the triplets, Dr. McLory approached with sadness. "The good news, Ms. Carter, is that Esther will recover full use of her right arm, and she should be no worse for wear – other than a nasty scar."

Daniel sized up the doctor, not liking the informal tone she used when addressing Sam. She was about five and a half feet tall, with deep brown hair and eyes. Her hair was done up in a French twist that complemented her dark skin tone. She wore frameless glasses that accented her eyes marvelously. "And you are?" he asked hotly.

Dr. McLory looked at the man, inspecting him carefully. She saw faint scars on his face and neck that most would miss, but because of her profession and having a plastic surgeon for a husband, she saw them clearly. "I'm Dr. Aylen McLory, I've been Esther, Abigail and Jonathon's physician since they first moved to Washington. I have treated Esther or recommended doctors who could help her every time this has happened. I assume you're their father?"

Daniel shook his head, he would be blushing in any other circumstance, but the situation right now was too dire. "No, I'm just a family friend, Daniel Jackson."

Aylen nodded, she'd heard much about Samantha Carter's three old teammates, including the geeky archeologist, Daniel Jackson. "Of course. I'm sorry for the confusion." She turned her attention to the other two triplets; "She's set up in the usual room and stable if you want to go visit her. The surgery went well, but she's still unconscious."

After the siblings had darted into the room their sister was in, Aylen turned her attention back to the three adults.

"Doctor," Hammond said, anger barely controlled in his voice, "How bad is it?"

Dr. McLory gazed sorrowfully into the older man's eyes, "It'll take anywhere from six months to a year _minimum_ for that gash to heal up properly and for Esther to gain back full mobility of her arm – if she ever will. He cut her down to the bone in some places, and when we were prepping her for surgery, we discovered evidence of an attempted rape. She pushed him to the side enough that he ejaculated on her thigh." She noticed the signs of intense rage on the faces of all three, coming to rest her gaze on Sam. "He got away, didn't he?"

Sam nodded, tears welling in her eyes. Hammond took her in his arms and she held on tight, like a child.

Aylen put a comforting hand on Sam's back, feeling the silent sobs of one of her best friends. "I think you need to inform her father, Sam. This is _just_ as bad as last time – if not worse. Last time we were able to keep part of the truth from the three of them, but that will be impossible this time. That wound could have caused some serious damage to her spinal cord, Samantha," Aylen added quickly before the other woman could protest. "He deserves to know."

"She's right, Sam," Daniel agreed. "Jack does deserve to know. At least let him meet his children."

Hammond shot Daniel a look, "He _does_ know. I told him last year about the triplets. But Jack being Jack refused to do anything about it. He didn't even want to see them."

That made Daniel almost as angry as this Pete fellow had made him - _almost_. "You mean he's known for a year that he has three children _and_ their whereabouts _and he doesn't care_? That's not possible."

Hammond shook his head, "I don't think so either, but when I told him, Jack responded by saying that he had a life now and a wife of his own to care about. He also said something to the effect of: 'They're Carter's kids, not mine. She raised them and I'd bet that she didn't even tell them about me.'" Hammond shook his head again, "Well, that's the G version of what he said."

"_Jack_!" They heard the scream come from down the hall. "The baby's coming! I don't think I'll make it to the room!"

* * *

A/N: Dun dun dun! Feel like reviewing NOW? Only my beta and I know what happens - and I'm only spilling the beans if you guys review!  



	6. Hospital Adventures

A/N: Hehehe! Do you think I'd actually tell you WITHOUT more than a one chapter wait? Ha! The more reviews I get the faster you'll know. Oh, and one little thing - THIS IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN A S/J STORY!

* * *

_"__Jack!" They heard the scream come from down the hall. "The baby's coming! I don't think I'll make it to the room!"_

"You'll make it Care Bear, you'll make it!" Sam lifted her head as her face went white; she knew that voice all too well.

The woman screamed again in pain as another contraction hit her. The group of doctors, nurses, and the woman in labor and her 'husband' came around the corner of the hall Sam, Daniel, Hammond and Dr. McLory were standing in. Daniel and Hammond recognized the man immediately as Jack O'Neill, but they couldn't place the woman.

Sam, too, recognized Jack straight away, but the woman could have been his sister for all she knew. But somehow, she knew in her heart that the woman grasping Jack O'Neill's hand, like Sam should have fifteen years_ to the day_ before, was his wife.

Before Jack could spot Sam, she dashed into her daughter's room and shut the door behind her with a loud clang.

It was only when the door was closed, leaving the small family alone, did the tears start to fall from Sam's eyes again. JJ, seeing his mother's distress, left Esther in the very capable hands of Abby, and comforted his mother.

"Shh, Mom," he whispered as he stroked her hair. "What's wrong?"

"You're father's here," was all Sam was able to say before JJ and Abby were out the door, looking for the man they loved and cared for even though he didn't know about them, leaving Sam to sob harder by herself.

By the time the two siblings had reached the hallway, all they could see was the retreating form of their father as he got into an elevator. When Jack looked up, he locked eyes with Abby and thought he was seeing a ghost. She looked so much like a young Samantha Carter that it scared him shitless.

Abby looked at her father and saw recognition filter through his eyes, even at the distance. He would be back down to their floor, looking for them as soon as he was able.

Fifteen minutes later found Dr. McLory doing the rounds with her other patients, and a small family group waiting in the waiting room for their Esther to wake up. Aylen had told them that only two people could be in the room with the sleeping girl at a time, so at the moment JJ and Sam were sitting vigilantly at the teen's bedside.

Abby sighed; she couldn't handle the 'doing nothing' stage of hospitals very much longer. She rose from her seat and looked at her uncle and grandfather, "I'm going to find the cafeteria and see if it's still open. Do either of you want to come with me?"

George shook his head as he looked at the forlorn expression Daniel wore on his face – the younger man was obviously trying to find a way to blame the current situation on himself. George got out his wallet and passed some money to Abby so she could get some food before she walked off.

_Looking_ for the cafeteria wasn't the right word to use; she already knew precisely where it was. What she _was_ doing, however, was trying to find an alternate, alternate route to get there.

* * *

The cafeteria was nearly void of all human existence, save a few orderlies and doctors on their breaks. Most of the cafeteria staff knew the Carter triplets well, having seen them very often when their 'trouble streak' came into view. 

Abby went up to the counter and noticed that the man behind it was one of her friends from Sam's science class who worked nights at the hospital. "Hi, Tom," she said sadly.

The young man of about twenty flashed her a concerned smile with his African American features. "Hello, Abby. What's wrong?"

Abby sighed, "Pete's back. Esther got knocked up pretty bad."

Tom frowned, while he was not as fond of Esther as he was of Abigail, he was always saddened to hear of harm coming to any of the three siblings. "Do you want company while you eat your Jell-O?" He said, motioning towards the red bowl of Jell-O Abby had in her hands, "I don't know how you can stand it, but you shouldn't be alone right now."

Abby smiled again sadly, "What about work?"

He scoffed playfully, "There's hardly even anyone here. I'll tell you what, we'll sit close to the counter so I can see if someone wants to buy something, okay? Good."

Tom put one of his big arms around Abby's shoulders and led her to a table close by. Come to think of it, he looked like he could be related to Teal'c, actually. They both had the same body type and eyes.

He watched her eat in silence, knowing that he couldn't say anything to make her feel any better, and just being glad that she was eating something and not ignoring her body like she had a tendency to do when Esther or JJ got sick. Strange as it may seem to most who saw the two together, but the giant of a man was hopelessly in love with his teacher's fifteen-year-old petite, blonde daughter.

Tom didn't see him walk in, but Abby did. "You have another customer, Tommy," she whispered, not wanting him to leave and taking comfort in his familiar presence.

There was only one person who knew what Abby truly felt for Tom the Goliath, and that was her mother. Strange as it might seem to other mothers, Samantha Carter found no fault in the feelings her daughter shared with her student. After all, she was ten years younger than her children's father and Abby could have done _much_ worse than falling for a man with a steady income. She could have fallen for her CO.

Tom sighed and got up from his seat to serve the man who had just walked in. The black giant immediately saw the customer's curious nature and didn't like the way he kept on looking at Abby. He rung up the red Jell-O and coffee the silver haired man had selected and glared at him, "Anything else, sir?"

The stranger nodded, "Yeah, do you know the name of that girl right there?" he asked, pointing to Abigail.

Tom's scowl deepened, "As a matter of fact, I do. But if you really want to know who she is, I suggest you ask her yourself."

The older gentleman nodded, "I think I'll do just that," he said with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

The Colossus was livid at the nerve of the man. How dare he! Why, he was old enough to be Abby's father!

"Is this seat taken?" He asked as he met Abby's eyes for the second time in as many hours.

"I was wondering when you'd find me," she said, indicating that he could sit down.

He sighed, "Well, I've been looking for about the past half an hour. You, young lady, are a hard person to track down." He wagged his finger at her disapprovingly.

Abby's gaze remained cold. Oh, she knew exactly who the stranger was – and she wanted to make him suffer just a little bit more before revealing all that she knew… or at least some of it. "I'm told I take after my father in that respect, _sir_."

At this he stopped what he was doing and looked at her seriously, "I'm not sure if you're the right person, and this may sound strange, but what's your mother's name?"

The young girl was silent for a few minutes, contemplating whether she should tell him or give him a phony name. The desperate look in his eyes decided her. "Dr. Samantha Jean-Louise Carter."

The silver haired man closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you know who I am?"

Abby nodded, "Yep. I know _exactly_ who you are. The question is, do you know who _I_ am?"

Brown eyes met blue, and in that look, both conveyed their feelings to the other. "No, no I don't."

Abby's gaze softened a little, "May I introduce myself? I am Abigail Janet-Lee O'Neill. The youngest of three."

His tan face darkened, "Your mother had other children before you, then? Half-siblings?"

A smirk graced Abby's face, "No, I'm the youngest out of three _triplets_." Her eyes became sad as she looked into his deep brown ones, "You missed out on so much, Dad. Maybe if you had been there none of this would have ever happened." Her eyes became moist, but she refused to let the tears fall, the stubbornness of a Carter and pig headedness of an O'Neill.

"None of what?" he asked with concern.

* * *

A/N: All of you know, of course what she's talking about, but I thought this would be an appropriate place to stop this. Always leave 'em wanting more! 

P.S. What do you guys think of Tom?


	7. Conversations

A/N: Ooohhh! I'm so mean! Aren't I? Well, actually this chapter break is a little less of a cliff hanger than the last couple. Don't worry - for every question you have my beta had five - and for every answer I don't give you in words is written in the story at least two times.

* * *

"_None of what?" he asked with concern._

She shook her head slightly, "You don't even know why we're here, do you?" At his negative answer, she continued angrily. "Esther is lying in a hospital room she has grown to _hate_ because a man we all wish had never stepped into our lives _came back_." Her eyes revealed all the anger she had kept bottled inside against this man. She had been the silent martyr for so many years to everything Pete had ever done to Esther. "And you know what? It's _your__fault_. If you had been there in the beginning, Mom _never_ would have even met him. If you had been there!"

"Abby!" JJ looked at the state his sister was in and rushed to her side when he rounded the corner into the cafeteria, gathering her into his arms as she let the tears flow. He looked at the companion she had and was shocked to see it was one Major General Jack O'Neill.

"What the hell is this?" JJ said to his father, in a tone so low it could barely be heard. Jack heard so much of himself in both of his children, especially the way JJ's voice went ultra low when he was pissed off. "What in Hannah's name do you think you're doing? You do _not_ make my sister cry! Who the hell do you think you are?"

Jack stood, holding his hands up in defeat as Tom came and stood by his side, about to escort him out. "Alright, fine, I'm leaving. But first I want to say one thing to the both of you, you're right. It is my fault. I have no clue what the present circumstances are, but you're right in saying that it's my fault."

"JJ where did you run off to?" Hammond said as he rounded the corner and came into the room. He saw Abby in JJ's arms and Jack's arm being held gruffly by Tom. The entire situation screamed tense. Hammond was just thankful that the rest of the cafeteria was empty.

"Tom," he said in a calm voice. "Let go of his arm. You really don't want to get into a fight with Abigail's father now do you?"

Tom looked pleadingly at the older man as he released Jack's arm, "Look, I don't know who he is, but I _do_ know that he made Abby cry. In my book that's a punishable crime."

George nodded, "I know, son. It's a punishable crime in my book, too. But with this reunion there was bound to be tears. A lot of them. Now I think your shift is almost over, you can see Abby tomorrow."

Tom nodded, knowing that the conversation was over and that he was being asked to leave. He put his hand on Abby's silently shaking shoulder, giving her his strength. He didn't say anything because the two of them had never needed words; he only hoped that this situation was the same.

After the young man had left, Hammond glared at Jack, who looked down ashamed. "Well, I guess now's as good a time as any to introduce you, Jack. Meet two of your children, Abby and JJ." He turned to the two of them, "Kids, meet your father, Major General Jack O'Neill."

Abby wiped her eyes and moved out of her brother's hold, turning to face her father as she did so. "We've met."

JJ just glared menacingly at the man. "Yeah, I haven't had the pleasure. Names Jonathan Jacob _Carter_. Nice to meet you… _Dad_."

George glared at the two siblings, wondering why they were acting so rude to Jack when he knew for a fact that both of them _adored_ him. "Esther just woke up. She felt both of your guy's anger and wants to talk to you – _now_."

The two raced out the door to their sister's hospital room, telepathically apologizing along the way. When Jack made a move to follow them, Hammond stopped him. "You need to hear some things first, Jack. You don't even know _why_ your daughter is even in the hospital and the four of them need to calm down a _lot_ before you show up again."

Jack looked at his old boss, not even having to pretend to not understand, "Four?"

Hammond's anger was slowly creeping into his voice, "Yeah, _four_. Sam needs to get over the shock of seeing you again just as much as the triplets of terror."

Jack nodded, feeling guilt begin to slowly invade all of his pores so it was seeping from him. "Why is, um, why is Esther in the hospital, George?" he asked shakily, afraid the older man wouldn't answer.

"She was attacked by Sam's ex-boyfriend. Left her in pretty bad shape, although not as bad as last time."

"Can, um, can I see her?"

Hammond's anger started to dissipate at the sound of Jack O'Neill scared out of his mind. He was acting just like any father would.

The older General nodded, "Yeah, you can. But first I want you to explain to me who the hell that woman was you came in with. She wasn't your wife."

Jack shook his head, wondering if that's what Sam and the kids had thought when they had seen him running through that corridor. "No, it was my little sister, Caroline, her nickname is Care Bear."

Hammond nodded, "That explains a lot. But you're going to have to explain all of that to them, you realize that, don't you?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I know." The two men started walking out and Jack asked, "So, what's with the nick name 'triplets of terror'?"

George smiled in remembrance of how that name came about. "It seems your children have your ability to acquire bruises and broken bones very easily. They got that name three years ago after all three landed in here with broken arms after a baking accident."

Jack stopped dead in his tracks, beyond shocked, "_Baking_ accident?"

George chuckled at the reaction his companion gave him, "You're going to have to ask Sam about that one. I wasn't there and the triplets all are still arguing about whose fault it really was."

The silver haired Major General nodded and the two began their promenade again. "And that big guy in there who nearly ripped my arm off?"

"Tom Keplar. He's a student in Sam's physics class at the local university. He has quite the crush on Abby." George looked at Jack to gage his reaction. When he saw the mirth in the younger mans eyes he hastily added, "But you didn't hear that from me."

"You got it, George," Jack said, trying to control his laughter.

* * *

A/N: See? I didn't make you wait TOO terribly long to find out who the woman was - or explain at least part of Jack's reactions. 


	8. Flashbacks and Visions

A/N: Well, the response I got with the last chapter was just so good - I decided to post this BEFORE going to take my four hour test today to see if I'm 'smart' enough to get out of high school. Oh, and to those of you who think this story is going to just be blaming Jack - THINK AGAIN. **Fools **is PLURAL!

* * *

"I'm so sorry you had to feel that, Es," Abby apologized again to her sister. "I didn't _mean_ to broadcast."

Esther smiled softly, whispering, "It's fine, really. How could you have known he would be here?" She looked at her mother, "How are you handling it, Mom?"

Sam sighed, "I'm still in shock, really, dearest. I thought he was still in Colorado." She sat down on Esther's bed, gently stroking her daughter's leg.

George knocked on the door softly before opening it to reveal the small family of four. Esther looked up and gasped when she saw who had just entered her hospital room.

Sam looked behind her when she heard her daughter gasp, and gasped herself when her eyes met with Jack O'Neill's. Before either could get over their shock, Abby collapsed on the ground.

"Abby?" Sam whispered, concerned for her other daughter's welfare. "Come on, Abby, now's not the time to have another episode."

JJ gathered his sister in his arms and rocked her back and forth, all the while whispering, "Come on, Abigail, come on."

Abby finally opened her eyes, taking in a big gulp of air when she did so, "Oh, no."

"What happened, Abby?" Esther asked. "What did you see?"

The blonde-haired girl looked up at her grandfather, "Go check the house. Take a team with you."

George needed no further prodding, he had a fairly good guess as to what the vision had been about. He left the hospital while he was still talking on his cell phone, taking Daniel with him.

"What did you see, Abby?" her mother asked again.

Abby's terrified eyes met her mother's calm ones, "He went back to the house. He was – he was tearing it apart."

Anger grew inside of Sam, "I'm going to rip him limb from limb." She rose and was about to follow Hammond out when she remembered that Jack was there and in the dark about what was going on. She felt all her energy drain from her body as she collapsed on the ground in a crying mass.

Jack's reaction was immediate and natural: he knelt down and gathered Sam's shaking form into his arms – much to the shock of two of his children while the third silently sang with joy at the sight. "Shh, Carter, it's okay. You're safe here." When her crying had stopped, Jack looked up at the only calm face in the room – Esther's, "Care to fill me in?"

She nodded, "Only on the pertinent information for tonight. I'm Esther, you're oldest child. Mom's ex-boyfriend, Pete, is rather violent. This is the fourth attack that has sent me to the hospital. Abby is able to see possible futures, in varying degrees. She just had one such episode." Turning to Abby, Esther silently asked her to explain.

Abby took a shaky breath and started, "I saw the house from the outside, and then I saw Pete walk in. Suddenly I was following him, as he went through the house, leaving destruction in his wake."

Jack felt anger surge through his body, _no one_ messed with Samantha Carter and her children and got away with it. Right then and there he swore he would extract revenge on Pete if it cost him his reputation and his life. "How long has this been going on?" he asked them.

"Ever since they were born," Sam whispered into Jack's chest. "Even before that if I'm honest about it."

"Um, excuse me? Ms. Carter?" Dr. McLory poked her head into the room. "The lab results came back. I want to keep Esther here overnight for observation, but you can take her home in the morning." Jack, who was still in the dark about what his daughter had gone through, motioned for the doctor to wait outside.

"I'm going to go, talk to the doctor, okay?" he asked Sam, hoping she wouldn't mind him acting like the father of the triplets even though he was.

Sam nodded, "I'll go with you." She turned to her children, "You guys need to talk about all of this. Don't tell me you don't JJ, you're a spitting image of your father – personality included. You _do_."

"Hey! I'm not that bad, am I?" Jack asked in mock seriousness.

Sam just gave him a look while Esther said, "If what Grandpa George tells us is true you're worse."

Once outside the hospital room, Jack turned to Dr. McLory, "Perhaps you can explain all of this to me. I'm still in the dark here."

It was Aylen – not Dr. McLory - who answered the question with a question. "Are you their father?"

"Yes," Jack said, his voice breaking a little as he said that one word.

Aylen nodded, "You should be very proud of your children, they're very strong – and brave. A lot braver than they should have to be."

"What – what happened?"

When confronted with that question, Aylen shifted quickly to Dr. McLory – no longer a friend of the family but a physician who had a job to do. "Pete Shanahan broke into the Carter residence tonight at about 10:30 p.m. He made his way to Esther's room where he tried to rape her, then succeeded in reopening a gash he had left on her back the last attack– cutting her down to the bone. He also left numerous more shallow lacerations on her thighs and abdomen. Mr. O'Neill, that man has scarred your daughter for life, both physically and emotionally. May God have mercy on his soul – for man will not."

Jack nodded, the soldier the facet he was letting the doctor see unreadable. "Thank you, Dr…"

"Aylen McLory."

"Thank you Dr. McLory." The way he said this was finalizing and Aylen knew she had just been dismissed. Jack turned to Sam, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Sam shook her head, "You don't know how many times I picked up the phone, started dialing your number – then stopped."

Jack took a step closer to her, "When did you find out you were pregnant? Before or after you left?"

"It's _why_ I left."

Both of them thought back to what had put them in that predicament. It had all really started the last time Daniel had died…

_Flashback_:

Sam looked around her. God, she was so pathetic! It was the middle of the night, pouring down rain and here she was on her CO's porch, trying to get up the courage to knock.

He beat her to it. Opening the door, he saw a _very_ wet, _very_ cold, and _very_ beautiful Samantha Carter occupying his doorway. "Carter?" he asked, concern and worry etched onto his sleep-deprived face.

Sam could just breathe, it was literally all she could do. She was frozen with the downpour of rain, and was still in shock over what had happened to Daniel the day before.

"Christ, Carter!" Jack chastised as he pulled her into his house before shutting the door. "What the hell did you do to yourself?" he asked as he helped her out of her jacket and shoes.

"I – I cou-couldn't st-stand be-being h-home. S-so I we-went for a walk."

Jack looked up and down her shivering form, why the hell did she have to be so attractive even that soaking wet? "Wait here, I'll go get you a towel."

As soon as he started to walk away, Sam began to peal away her wet clothing, her mind telling her that if she didn't get dry soon, she could get hypothermia. This, unfortunately for Jack, left her shivering in nothing but her bra and underwear in his front hallway.

Before either of them could form a coherent thought, they were against the wall, kissing each other in mindless passion. The military part of Jack's mind screamed at the man part of him that it was wrong and they needed to stop, "No," he said, half-heartedly. "Carter this is wrong." He backed away, leaving about three feet of space between their heavy breathing bodies.

"I know," she whispered. "But for one night, I just want to screw the regulations that have been screwing me my entire life." And with that, the two started up again.

When Jack woke up the next morning, his room smelled of sex – and rain, but the part of it all that really did him in was that Sam was still there, sleeping like a baby.

_End Flashback._

* * *

A/N: So? What do you all think? Any good? Don't worry, there will be more conversations between Sam and Jack about that night - and the mistakes they BOTH made. Remember - it was Sam who left, not Jack.  



	9. Hell

A/N: Thanks for pointing out my mistake with the title - as you can see I changed it. It was meant to be plural and now it is. I think I did really awesome on the test...although I felt a lot like Daniel trying to dumb something down for Jack as I was taking it. Anywho, here's the next chapter! Thanks for your conscern!

* * *

After that night, they had an unspoken pact not to ever breach the subject again, _ever_ again. That was the main reason behind Sam's decision to leave one month later. _It was just sex to him_, was her mantra as she packed a bag and left, forever looking back, but never _going_ back. 

"Was it just sex to you?" Sam asked suddenly.

Jack looked at her like she had just asked him what his name was, "Would I be here now if it had been?"

"Yes."

The Major General conceded that point, "I came to D.C. last year – looking for you and them. It had taken me that long after George told me to file for divorce and get it finalized." Sam's eyes grew wide with shock, "Don't look at me that way, Carter. You were there during the zay'tark testing just like I was. Kerry was just a sad replacement for you. I wasn't happy.

"Anyway, I moved to D.C. a year ago and actually got to your front door a few times. Just, after seeing you and the kids so happy, I couldn't bear to show up and ruin that."

Sam silenced his rambling with a kiss, "I've been such a fool. Can you ever forgive me?"

Jack's saddened eyes lock with hers, "I'm not sure I can, Carter. You kept me away from my _children_ for fifteen years. I can't hold this last year against you – but you didn't even _tell_ me I was a father for fourteen years."

Tears started to flow down Sam's saddened face, she knew she was in the wrong with keeping the triplets from their father – but for the majority of that time she was terrified that Pete would hurt him. Oh, a hospital corridor wasn't the place to get into this – she'd tell him later.

"What happened last time, Carter?" Jack finally asked.

Sam looked at him with a look that could only be described as a mother out for revenge, "Last time… last time was the consequence of the first time he sent her to the hospital." Sam closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears. Her voice was strained as she said; "That first time he tried to rape her, he gave her a _very_ bad concussion." She looked into Jack's hard, loath filled eyes and added, "She was twelve at the time."

If it was possible for Jack O'Neill to digress back to the anger of his days in black ops through just hearing words – that's what happened. "What happened then?" he asked in a dangerous, low voice.

Sam looked down, "It took her seven months – and her thirteenth birthday, to get over her fear of sleeping alone." Her baby blues met Jack's chocolate browns, "He struck for the second time five months after their thirteenth birthday. He raped her, Jack. He raped our baby."

Jack took Sam into his arms and held her as the tears flowed down her worn face, "Shh, you don't have to tell me, Carter."

"_Yes_, I do," she whispered into his collar. "She knew she was pregnant three days later. She missed her period. Two days before their fourteenth birthday, she was showing – and glowing. It may have been a child sired by a rapist and a bastard, but we all wanted that baby. Pete took her again – for the third time. That son of a bitch had Esther for _two days_ before we got her back. She was in such bad shape, Jack. The day we got her back – their fourteenth birthday, she gave birth prematurely to a little girl. Our granddaughter died four days later."

The tears were now not only falling from Sam's face, but from Jack's as well. "We'll get him, Sam. We'll get him. He will _pay dearly_ for putting _all_ of you through that."

Sam looked up at him and found his face mirroring her grief-stricken one. "Our children need you. They love you so much."

Jack snorted, "Abby and JJ didn't act like they love or need me."

Sam just shook her head, "They're too much like you to show need. Come on, they need you as much as you need them."

Mother and father walked back into the room their children occupied. Sam turned to JJ, "I'm going back to the house to get the records and some clothes for all of you."

"I'm going with you," Jack and his son said at the same time. JJ turned to his father and glared. Frankly, it made Jack proud that his son wouldn't let Sam go into a potentially dangerous situation alone.

"I'd thought you'd say that," Sam said. "We better go now, while Grandpa George is still there with the team." Turning to her daughters, she said, "Are you sure you'll both be safe here by yourselves?"

Abby nodded, "Tom's waiting by the nurse's station. If it'll make you feel better you can tell him to come and watch the room."

Sam nodded, smiling sadly at her youngest daughter, "I'll tell him."

As they walked past the nurse's station, Sam caught Tom's eye and nodded once to the big man. He nodded in reply before turning back down the corridor to Esther's room. Jack turned to the mother of his children and asked curiously, "You're seriously okay with the fact that he likes her and she him?"

JJ looked at his father carefully, "You can't tell your heart who to love and who to like."

Sam nodded, at that, "She could have done worse. Tom Keplar is working on getting his Master's Degree in physics. He has a steady, good paying job and isn't married." She looked Jack in the face, "At least Abby didn't fall for her CO."

* * *

The car ride to the Carter house was silent, until right before Sam pulled into the driveway. Without turning to her son, she asked, "You remember what to do?" 

"Yeah. Mom, I'm going to keep in constant contact with you. It's the only way to make sure that nothing happens."

Jack frowned at his son, "Make sure what doesn't happen?"

JJ saw the concerned look on his father's face and couldn't help but feel that maybe, just maybe this relationship could work out. "Esther is terrified of Pete. It's a crippling fear for Esther. Abby's also afraid of him, but she handles it a lot differently. Mom's a little bit of a…shall we say, madwoman when she sees Pete. Nothing's really safe. Whenever he's on the loose, I have to stay in constant contact with the three of them to keep them safe from Pete."

"What about you, JJ?" Jack asked softly, "Are you afraid of him?"

JJ's hard eyes met his fathers, "He's afraid of _me_."

"Enough. We're here," Sam said as the car came to a stop behind Hammond's. She hated that JJ told Jack about her reaction to Pete, but she guessed he had a right to know. The trio got out and Sam turned to the two men, "I'm going for the clothes. JJ, I need you to get the records – _all_ of them."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Jack, you can go with him or you can come with me. It's your choice."

"I'll go with JJ." _To keep him safe_, he added silently.

"Let's go then."

* * *

"JJ?" Jack asked as he pulled out his gun, clicking the safety off just in case. 

"Dad?" JJ answered, checking his room to make sure it was clear.

"What records was your mom talking about?"

JJ snorted, "Birth certificates, journals, photo albums, scrap books, and Mom's legal documents. Why?"

"Just wondering." Jack saw something move in the corner of his eye and when he turned around he came face to face with a middle-aged man with light brown, thinning hair. Jack knew right from the first glance that this _wasn't_ one of Hammond's men, "Don't move a muscle – Pete."

Pete's brown eyes grew wide, "Who the hell are you? Some pimp come to get some from the three bitches?"

JJ started his mental attack on Pete, causing the older man to drop to his knees in pain, "That would be my dad." JJ intensified the attack, "Pete, Pete, Pete. How many fucking times do I have to tell you – my sisters and my mother are _not_ your personal whores!"

Pete snorted, "Could have fooled me."

"JJ, stop," Jack commanded in a cool tone.

JJ glared at his father, "Why the hell should I?"

"Because he's not good enough for this – and because you're _too_ good for this. Don't go down that road… please."

The attack swiftly stopped and Pete collapsed, panting. "Thank you," he whispered.

Jack strode over to the younger man, picked him up by his collar and pushed him against the wall (three inches off the ground). "_Don't_ thank me. I've killed more scum like you than I care to remember – I will _not_ let my son end up like you." Jack tightened his hold, "You want to know why you're scared of a kid? A child less than half your age, Petey-boy? Because _my_ blood runs strong in his veins."

"Then it doesn't run in your daughters' veins. They're both terrified of me," Pete spat in Jack's face, but the older man just wiped it away with his free hand. Jack's grip tightened noticeably.

"Jack," Hammond said softly from the door. His voice was soft, but there was an edge to it that made the enraged father have to listen. "Let him down. Justice will be met, but you need to let him down."

Slowly_, ever_ so slowly, Jack lowered Pete to the ground, "You ever touch any of them again, I will not only find you. I will make sure you spend eternity in damnation and torment."

"You ever been to hell, Jack?" Pete asked defiantly. "I hear it's warm."

"Hell has _nothing_ on the place I'm talking about." Jack pulled out a zat, fired it at Pete once and with that he stormed out of the room, his son by his side. Hammond quickly had one of his team handcuff Pete while he called the FBI. The Major General was positive they wouldn't mind holding the rapist and kidnapper until he could be brought to trial.

Sam, who had been standing in the hallway during all the drama, was staring in shock at the space of wall across from her when JJ and Jack found her. JJ touched his mother's arm lightly, relieved when she turned and acknowledged him.

"Time to go, Mom. Did you get the clothes?" he asked softly so not to startle her.

Sam nodded, mutely, pointing to the duffle bag at her feet. JJ picked it up, and motioned for his father to comfort Sam. "I'll be right back. I need to find the records," the boy said in the same soft voice. He may have been furious that his father had shown up out of the blue like that, but at least his father had been there during this traumatic event. The man deserved to see what they had been like growing up.

Moment's later JJ returned, carrying a box in his arms, "I got it, let's go back to the hospital. Dad, can you get Mom?"

"Yeah, JJ, we'll be out in a minute." The boy nodded to his father, concern for his mother evident on his face as he walked down the stairs of his home into the living room to await his parents. "You okay, Sam?"

Sam nodded, "Peachy."

"No you're not. What's this about?"

Sam shook her head, "I guess I just went into shock. Seeing him there, knowing we've got him in custody and not some turncoat police station."

Jack nodded, accepting that answer for the present. "Look, I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now – we both screwed up big time but maybe we can sort all of this out later – after tonight. Deal?"

Sam nodded, her eyes locking with his, "Deal."

* * *

A/N: Just one more chapter about their birthday - then we can move on to the next day! Yay for me! Review please and tell me what you think of my tricky ways to make it so Jack's not married...hehehe, that comes up later, too. 

Oh! Yeah! If you have any requests for Pete-torture, please tell me


	10. Revelations

A/N: Okay, here ya all go! I hope you all re-read the last chapter b/c I change...quite a bit. It's still basically the same, but some pretty important details have been switched after it was brought to my attention that it was a load of crap and way OOC to have half of that stuff in there.

* * *

_Sam nodded, her eyes locking with his, "Deal."_

The hospital was quiet and nearly deserted when the three of them got back. They entered Esther's room and found Abby asleep on a chair and covered in a blanket, along with Tom and Esther talking quietly together.

When Tom heard the door open, he turned around and nodded to Sam, making as if he was about to leave. "Tom, wait," Esther called. "Abby would be _very_ disappointed if you left without saying goodbye."

Tom stopped in his tracks, turning back and nodding at Esther before reclaiming his seat at the foot of her bed. Esther looked at her sister, silently communicating with her as she slept.

Abigail awoke with a start, glaring at her sister, "Was that really necessary?"

Esther nodded, "_Yeah_, they're back. Now go outside and say goodbye to your boyfriend." At the hesitance of both Tom and Abby, Esther added in a voice that reminded Jack of a drill sergeant, "Now!"

Abby and Tom jumped up from their seats and practically ran out the door, closing it loudly behind them. Jack turned and looked between Sam, Esther, JJ and the door before turning back to Sam. "Did you send them to boot camp or something? I can see Hammond all throughout Esther's attitude – and the way she gives orders."

Esther smiled impishly at her father, "Grandpa George taught me that. He said it would help me appear scarier." As if thinking of something else, Esther turned to her mother and brother, "You did good trying to make me forget today. Thank you for that."

Sam smiled sadly, "We had some unexpected help, remember?"

Esther nodded, "It didn't help that he showed up again, tonight. That just brought all the memories back full force." She looked up at her brother, communicating with him silently before turning and looking at her father. "Thank you for stopping him."

Jack shrugged, "It's what I do. Especially for my little girl."

She shook her head, "No, you don't understand. About five years ago the FBI actually _caught_ him twice – but he skipped bail and disappeared both times. There was even the suspected death of him last year after they got me back. When he came tonight that was our first clue he was still alive. Hammond made sure the entire thing was hushed up because if Mom was charged of anything like abuse or neglect the defense lawyers would drag out _everything_ into the open – including the SGC and _you_."

Jack nodded wordlessly; he knew that Sam would have a _very_ good reason for her actions…and he knew how much fear could paralyze. That didn't change how much he wanted to beat Pete to death over and over again.

Esther smirked sardonically; tears flowing freely down her face. This time of year represented so much suffering for her, and yet here was her father about to make things better or worse by the path he chose to take. "Did you look at the journals yet?"

He shook his head, sitting down at the foot of her hospital bed. "They should all be pretty interesting reads, but it's something you should do alone. Let's look at the photo albums." JJ set the box down and got out the required book from within them. It was a huge album full of pictures of the triplets from when they were just born, and some of Sam, before skipping to when they were four years old at General Hammond's house.

Tears came to the general's eyes as he saw first hand the pictures of what his children had gone through, what _Sam_ had gone through. Hammond had taken group pictures of them a short time after their arrival, documenting the family of four in their malnourished state. And before his eyes, Jack watched the weight come back onto the bones of Sam and their children, the color go back into their cheeks. The pain be banished from their eyes.

Jack felt the tears be pushed off his face as if by a hand, but no one was that close to have done it. He turned to Esther and she smiled slightly, "No need to cry. There have been enough tears in our lives, Dad. You're _here_ now, it's time for laughter and joy."

"How did you do that just now?" Jack asked still looking at his daughter closely. How the hell could she be so calm when this had just happened to her? Her demeanor completely betrayed the severity of the situation.

Esther smiled slightly, "It's my telekinesis. I've learned to do a lot with it in the last few years. Mom says I inherited your gene of stubbornness." She looked at her brother and Abby who'd just walked in, "All three of us did."

Abby and JJ both looked down at their hands, ashamed of how they had treated their father. It didn't help their feelings of smallness much that Esther was telepathically berating them for their actions.

Jack briefly wondered why Esther had allowed herself to be abused to badly…and why Sam, Abby and JJ had allowed it. If she was telekinetic…couldn't she just kill Pete with a look? He'd have to ask Hammond about that later.

"So…" the bed ridden teen looked at those around her, "When can you spring me from my cell?"

Jack's mouth quirked up in a smirk. Yep, there was not a doubt in his mind that Esther was his daughter. He had no doubts that all of them were his.

Sam smiled, "In the morning _if_ you're good. Aylen said that you can go home _after_ she checks you over tomorrow. _If_ she doesn't find anything else wrong with you, Esther. And _if_ you behave and don't call the nurses' station twenty times in the middle of the night asking for red Jell-O then yelling at them that you'd asked for blue when they get here."

Sam added the last part much to the chagrin of Esther before the girl could get any ideas into her mind about tormenting the nurses. Sometimes the girl was just too much like her father.

"_Fine_."

* * *

As soon as Sam, Abby and JJ had left with Hammond to spend the night at his house, Esther turned her attention to her father. "I think Pete has something on Mom that made her stay with him as long as we did." 

"What are you talking about, Esther?" Jack's ears and attention picked up the hint of desperation in his daughter's voice.

Esther looked down at her hands before continuing; "I heard him say something about the Trust to Mom a few years ago. She was about to call the police after he'd broken into our house when I was eight; I was sitting on the stairs where they couldn't see me and I heard him say, 'Just remember, whore, if you call me in I'll call in you for neglect. Not to mention your precious General O'Neill will be history. Where would that leave your kids?' I don't know Dad – but I do know that right after that we moved to Canada for all of two months."

Jack was enraged that the Trust would have anything to do with a rapist and a murderer. The more he thought about it, though, the more it made sense. The men backing Pete up were high up the ladder – and it appeared that most of them didn't want Sam or Jack alive and were willing to take any measure to see to it that the commander of the SGC and the mother of his children were no longer a threat to their world domination scheme. He'd stop that soon enough.

Jack refused to leave Esther's side throughout the night. The father and daughter spent most of the night just enjoying each other's company. They had a bond that couldn't be shared with the rest of their family: Both had lost a child much sooner than they should have.

"She's buried in the plot next to Charlie, you know," Esther said seemingly randomly after waking up in the middle of the night for the fifth time. It appeared that the resistance to sedatives and painkillers was genetic.

Jack didn't need to ask whom she was talking about. "I wondered who that was when I went to his grave a few weeks ago."

"Destiny Hope O'Neill, killed by the bastard who sired her." There was a darkness in Esther's eyes that Jack had hoped to never see in any of his children. "I knew when I was in labor that she wasn't going to live very long. I could feel the life slipping out of her tiny body as she cried in my arms." Tears came to her deep brown eyes as they gazed steadily into the same eyes on her father's face. "No parent should have to outlive their own child. All while I was pregnant with her I kept on thinking of how wonderful it was that something so good could come out of such evil. And then he kidnapped me again and took away my hope – he took away my baby."

Jack gathered up _his_ baby in his arms, ever mindful of the painful gash on her back. He held her while she cried, just being there for her as she let the tears out and the pain take over her quivering form.

Her tears did what the morphine couldn't. They lulled her into a deep, sleep that could start to heal her wounded and battered soul.

As Jack watched her sleep, all he could really think about was Charlie: how much he'd lost when he'd lost his son, and how much he'd gained back again when he'd met his other children – _Sam's_ children.

How could she have taken them away and kept them away from him for so long? Could he ever really forgive her for that? These were _his_ _children_. Three miracles that by all rights and purposes shouldn't be alive – yet they _were_, and they were _his_. How could he ever forgive her keeping them from him for all those years?

A part of him always could. When he'd received that first letter from Sam, in her handwriting, he knew even then that the line between love and hate may be thin, but he was nowhere near that line. All she'd had to do was come home. But she didn't. At the time, sixteen years ago, he didn't even know _why_ she'd run – just that she did. Now, as he looked at the sleeping form of his daughter in the hospital bed, lying there after an attack made by a maniac, he thought he knew why she left.

She left because of the babies.

Every child deserves a relatively normal life with a mother and a father. If she had stayed, they wouldn't have had that – only pain and heartache. But now Jack had found Sam again, and in doing so he'd found their children.

Briefly Jack's mind wandered to think about Pete. The anger inside of Jack nearly boiled over just when he thought about what the bastard had done to his family. It didn't matter if Jack didn't know where they were or even if the triplets existed at the time, Pete had nearly _killed_ them.

The lines that prematurely graced Esther's face had vanished while she slept, giving her the air of any other teenager her age, without cares or worries. She looked so beautiful, so much like Jack's mother it was a little eerie. Looking at her face, and the way she grimaced slightly when she forgot about her back and tried to turn over, Jack was determined never, _ever_ to play the fool again and let his family leave him. He'd move heaven and earth if he had to, but he had found his family again, and he wasn't going to lose them.

* * *

A/N: So? What think you? Like the Esther/Jack interaction? No? **ShadowDancer9**, still okay? Any problems with this? Anyone at all? Oh, and I'm still taking suggestions for Pete-torture! More what should be done to him, though. I already wrote who's administrating it.  



	11. Anniversary

A/N: Thanks for all the encouraging support with this! Please remember to review! So many people have this story on alert - WHY DO NONE OF YOU REVIEW? WAHHH! Oh - my play is scheduled for next week Wednesday through Saturday, so I might not be posting for a while...if you review, though, I'll try to get one out!

* * *

_ The lines that prematurely graced Esther's face had vanished while she slept, giving her the air of any other teenager her age, without cares or worries. She looked so beautiful, so much like Jack's mother it was a little eerie. Looking at her face, and the way she grimaced slightly when she forgot about her back and tried to turn over, Jack was determined never, __ever to play the fool again and let his family leave him. He'd move heaven and earth if he had to, but he had found his family again, and he wasn't going to lose them.

* * *

_

The next day, Esther was released from the hospital on good behavior, with strict instructions to return four times a week for physical therapy, _no_ walking and _no_ strenuous activity. She took it all in stride, trying to keep her mind out of the pit that it had grown very used to in the past year. It wasn't her fault that her baby had died.

After deciding to go back to Jack's house, when Esther said that she didn't want to see their house for a while, the five gathered into Jack's car and headed toward his rather spacious five-bedroom house just outside of D.C.. Surprisingly it was only a few miles away from their own house, Esther looked at her father with questions written all over her face. "What about Aunt Caroline, Dad? Isn't she still at the hospital?"

Jack nodded without taking his eyes off the road, "Yep, as soon as we got up to her room I called her husband and he's with her now. I was just there for moral support and because she went into labor when Lou wasn't at home."

"Oh."

"What's her last name?" Sam asked curiously.

"Ferretti."

Her eyes bugged out and she stared at Jack in shock, "Lou Ferretti of SG-2 is _your_ brother-in-law? Why are they here and not in Colorado?"

Jack shrugged, "Care Bear wanted to visit me and the only way to do that was driving when she was eight months pregnant." He chuckled to himself, "They were supposed to go back today, but I don't think that'll be happening."

The rest of the car ride was spent in a comfortable silence as Esther lost herself in thoughts about her dead child; Jack thought through everything he'd need to do now that he'd found his family; Sam debated giving in to Jack once again; Abby's thoughts were centered around Tom in a desperate attempt to lose herself in the rare goodness of him; and JJ spent the entire ride trying to block out everyone else's thoughts from his mind.

* * *

Jack's house was everything the triplets expected it to be and more. It had five bedrooms, much to the amusement of Sam who distinctly remembered that his house in Colorado Springs had only two bedrooms, a basement Jack had converted into a game room, a spacious back yard with trees, and a basket ball hoop in the driveway. All in all, it was the perfect house to raise a family in. 

Jack's original sleeping arrangements had Abby and Esther sharing a room, JJ next door, followed by Sam in the next room, Caroline and Lou in the fourth room and Jack in his room. This was soon changed to Sam sleeping in the room JJ was given and the triplets sleeping in one room together. Jack had thought that JJ would be a little uncomfortable sharing a room with his two sisters, but he wasn't. It seemed he preferred it to sleeping by himself…especially after what Esther just went through with Pete – what they _all_ had gone through.

The days passed slowly for Esther as she quietly relived the time when her daughter had been alive. Exactly four days after their fifteenth birthday, Hammond showed up at Jack's house with Henry in tow. The procession made their way to the funeral so Esther could say good-bye again to her baby girl who would have been one year old had she lived. Caroline and Lou chose to stay home with their newborn son, not wanting to intrude and knowing the way Esther gazed at the child.

Jack noticed only one thing about his oldest daughter that concerned him a great deal: She had a small teddy bear that would have been used for a newborn; the ears were gnawed at and the white coloring was now gray as if the bear was much loved. He often saw her fingering the worn bear, but never said anything about it – even when she chose to take it with them to the cemetery.

"Hey, Destiny," Esther whispered as she sat in her wheelchair by her daughter's grave, the rest of the family at a respectful distance away. "I miss you, baby. You would have been such a happy child. We all miss you."

The tears she wouldn't let fall on any other day fell in abundance as she sat with her back rigidly straight to keep the pain at bay from her wounds. Wordlessly she dropped the small bear on the ground and turned to the grave next to Destiny's. "Take care of her, Charley. For me."

Esther turned back to her father and nodded her head slightly, telling him it was okay to come forward. He did just that. Jack had heard the words spoken by his daughter to her daughter and her brother, his son. He was heartbroken that there was little he could do to comfort the scarred girl.

Sam watched in silence with the rest of the onlookers as Jack approached the graves of his son and his granddaughter; his living, breathing daughter sitting in her wheelchair in between them. All she wanted was to go to them, but she knew without being told that she was more useful comforting her other two children who missed their niece almost as much as Esther did. With little fuss, she turned around, both of her children clinging onto her as if she were a life preserver, and made their way back to Hammond's car parked a few feet away.

Abby sniffed at her mother, looking up into her tear-stained face, "Why are we leaving?"

Sam's haunted blue eyes bore into her daughter's then her son's. "Because this is something your dad has to help Esther with, and we can only offer our comfort. He just found out about Destiny – they need to grieve and learn to live again – together."

Hammond and Henry soon followed Sam, Abby and JJ. In his mind, Henry wondered why he was even there – but in his heart he knew. He'd been going out with Esther for a year and a half. It was partially his influence that had kept the girl sane when Destiny had first died. He had been there when the little girl had lived and died too soon for any of them.

Now, it was time for Esther and Jack to learn to move on together.

* * *

A/N: So? What think you? This chapter was a little harder to write, but I thought I did pretty good. This story is about...oh, a little over half way done right now. REMEMBER TO REVIEW!  



	12. Moving Forward Together

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews...but I still have this problem that so many more people have this story on alert than review...it's sad.

* * *

_Now, it was time for Esther and Jack to learn to move on together._

"Does the pain ever stop?"

Jack looked at his daughter, surprised to hear her speak after a long silence between them, each staring at the grave of their respective child – taken long before their time.

"No," he said simply. "If it does then I'd say there's a problem. But you learn to live with it…To let others in and the memory rest. It took me a long time with Charley – in some ways I still haven't recovered."

Esther smiled wanly at her father, her eyes telling of her sorrow, "I know. Sometimes, Abby gets visions of your pain. Just waves of pain and anger. That's why Dr. McLory prescribed the anti-depressants that she refuses to take – and the panic attack pills that Mom makes her take."

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you guys," Jack whispered, so quietly Esther almost didn't hear him.

A solitary tear made it's way down Esther's cheek; "I'm sorry, too. _Every_one's so sorry about _every_thing. Why can't we just forget the mistakes of the past sixteen years and start fresh? It would be so much better if we can just start anew."

The Air Force General heard the wisdom behind her words; unfortunately he also heard the child-like longing in them. Gently he put his arm on her shoulder, comforting her as little as he could. "I'm not so sure any of us can forget. At least not until Pete's gone for good, Esther."

"Pete." Esther said it softly, as the name itself still gave her pain. She looked down at her hands picking at imaginary loose threads on her skirt. "When's the trial?"

Jack sighed airily, not wanting to bring her into this but knowing that it was Pete who had brought her in. "He plead no contest. That means no trial, but there will be a hearing to decide what the appropriate punishment is for his 'actions'."

"I want to testify." Her father was shocked beyond words that she would willingly submit herself to seeing her tormenter again, albeit in a courtroom with at least fifty people there devoted to keeping her safe. "They need to hear my story, and they need to hear what I want done."

Jack knew that his blood and Sam's flowed too strong in Esther's veins for the girl to back down. "Alright…I'll see what I can do to convince your mother."

* * *

"Can I hold him?" Esther asked quietly as Caroline rocked little Adam Ferretti to sleep after a nice meal a few days later. 

Caroline looked a little hesitant, but when she looked at Jack to get his opinion he only nodded. "Sure," she said, equally as quiet, "Just don't drop him."

Esther smiled sadly at that, but when she took her baby cousin into her arms, Caroline could see that the young girl was made to be a mother.

Everyone watched silently as Esther held the small babe in her loving arms, her siblings and mother remembering the other small child she had held in her arms. When the child stirred in his sleep, Lou put a hand on Caroline's shoulder; he wanted to see what his young niece would do in the situation and the man was not disappointed. Esther soon had the child sleeping soundly again.

When her back could take no more of the stretching that it was going through, Esther passed the infant back to his mother with a small smile. "He looks a lot like Destiny."

JJ smiled down at his small cousin, going to stand next to their aunt, "Yes, he does. Must be the O'Neill in them."

"Yeah," Sam whispered, "Must be." She got up to go outside on the porch, no one following her right away. Jack rose from his favorite chair, preparing to follow her when Abby stopped him.

"Be careful, Dad. She's really angry and afraid right now," Abby's blue eyes bored into her father's brown ones. "She'll probably say something she doesn't mean."

"Just don't take everything she says literally," JJ clarified, nodding his permission for their father to follow their mother.

Caroline watched her brother leave the room before turning back to his children. "What was that about?"

Esther shook her head slightly; "Mom's been really sensitive about…certain things since Destiny died last year."

"Oh."

Ferretti desperately tried to think up a way to get everyone's minds off the conversation they knew was taking place outside. With a grin, he finally came up with one.

"Do you guys want to hear about what your dad did when I asked him if I could marry Caroline?" Abby's eyes went wide while her imagination conjured up vivid images of their Uncle Lou being tortured.

JJ grinned in response, "Yeah, sure, you betcha."

* * *

"It was so much more than you think it was to me, Sam," Jack said plainly as he came up beside her. Sam was sitting down on one of his lawn chairs, her knees drawn up to her chest, her cheek lying haphazardly on her bent legs. 

She closed her eyes against the sudden onslaught of tears and pain, trying to keep a rein on her emotions so JJ wouldn't notice too much. "And yet…you let me go."

Jack sat down next to her, close but not touching. "After…after you…left that day, I went over to your house to see if you were there." His pain filled eyes met locked onto her face as one of his hands went up to brush a stray lock of hair out of her eyes before retreating to his lap again. "You're front door was unlocked…and you weren't inside…The Volvo was gone, and I knew that I was only minutes too late."

Sam's eyes met his finally, "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

"Hurt." Jack looked down at his hands, a cynical smirk on his face. "If only you had just hurt me physically, Sam. I was going through your house, about to leave when an envelope on the floor caught my attention – it was the file from the hospital telling you that you were pregnant."

He shook his head at Sam's small gasp of disbelief. "For four years I thought that if you wanted me in their lives – in your life – you would come back. But you never did. I married Kerry to take my mind off you and try to fill that ravine you left in my heart. It didn't work. Our marriage of _three_ years was botched from the beginning."

Sam's tears resurfaced and her head fell back down to her knees. "I screwed up, Jack. I'm so sorry." Her sobbing form was soon safe within Jack's arms. He never wanted to let her go, as she held on for dear life, crying every single tear she hadn't let herself shed over the man now holding her.

"Shh, it's okay now. I'm here now. Shh," Jack cooed as the two rocked gently back and forth on the edge of Jack's seat.

When Sam had finally calmed down enough to let go of Jack, she sat back a little, putting a little space between him and her. Jack kept on thinking over what Esther had told him at the cemetery, but he wasn't exactly sure how he could bring either of her points up to Sam. Especially while she was so vulnerable.

Biting the bullet, he just started talking. "I think we should start over."

Sam's look was priceless, "We have _three_ children. There is _no_ reset button on life."

Jack shook his head, "That's not what I meant. We should start over with this _relationship_. Forget all the past actions that have hurt both of us more than words can express, and just start over again. What do you think?"

Sam's face lit up with her mega-watt smile that she hadn't used in years, "I think I'd like that a lot, Jack. A whole lot."

Jack did something he'd been thinking about for years: he kissed Sam. It was passionate and sweet and everything they'd both missed in their long years apart. "Oh, God, I've missed you," he whispered as they pulled apart, their faces still close.

"I've missed you, too. Oh, man, Jack. I love you so much. I always have."

A lone tear tricked down Sam's face, and when Jack felt the wetness, he opened his eyes and kissed away all of her tears. "I love you too, Sam. And if we're going to start over, I want to do this right."

Sam's eyes opened and she watched him closely, "What do you mean?"

"Do you want to go out to dinner with me tomorrow night? Just the two of us?"

Her smile returned, that time as her very own version of the O'Neill smirk. "Why, General O'Neill, are you asking me out on a date?"

Jack's nervousness showed as he responded, "Yes?"

"I'd _love_ to go."

* * *

A/N: So? This is the last chapter until next Sunday at the earliest - I EXPECT LOTS OF REVIEWS!  



	13. The Date

A/N: SO sorry about the long wait with this chapter - but I'm not really because I said I wouldn't update until this weekend and I'm updating today. I find myself with a great deal of free time and decided to post this for you. Enjoy.

* * *

_"I'd _love_ to go."_

Sam and Jack were both noticeably happier that evening and the five other people (Adam, being only a few days old, doesn't count yet) knew right away what it was. That night after dinner, Esther felt the need to close one specific chapter of their lives for good before her parents started a new one.

"I hate to put a damper on this really jovial mood and all…but when's the sentencing?"

The family was sitting around the dining room table playing _Monopoly_ while Lou and Caroline took care of Adam and went to bed themselves. Abby had the dice and was about to roll when the question caught her off guard. Calling up their telepathic link, Esther shared her thoughts on the matter with her siblings as Sam and Jack sat in silence.

It was finally JJ who spoke, "When is it, Dad?"

Jack sighed loudly, "The day after tomorrow."

Sam looked up and met Esther's eyes, "Are you sure you want to go, Esther?"

She nodded, meeting her mother's eyes with a firm, O'Neill/Carter look of stubbornness. "I _need_ to go, Mom. I need them to hear my story before a decision is reached. I need to face him again and let him know that I may be afraid, but I will never again give in to that fear." Tears came to her eyes, "That fear cost me a child and my childhood – I'm not giving anything else to that bastard."

Her parents smiled sadly but Jack answered in a half-joking manner, "Now, do you think she gets the stubbornness from me or you?"

* * *

"Here, Mom," Abby said as she passed Sam a dress from the rack in front of them. "Try this one." 

Sam glanced down at the dress her younger daughter had picked out for her to wear on her date with Jack. It was baby blue, rather short and low cut in the front. Sam remembered one time Jack saying that it was what he couldn't see that turned him on. She pursed her lips at her daughter, "I'm not too sure, Abby. It's kinda short."

Abby just smiled, "I'm not telling you to buy it – just try it on. You haven't gone shopping for yourself in a while, Mom. Even if you like the dress, it doesn't mean you have to wear it tonight with Dad."

"Okay. You win." The mother and daughter spent a few more minutes browsing the isles of clothes that filled the small clothes boutique Sam and the girls were fond of in the outskirts of D.C.

In the end, after much thought and the donning of twenty different dresses, Sam chose three to buy: the baby blue one Abby picked out (not so low cut as she fist thought – nor so vulgar); a black one that came down to her knees and was modestly cut at the neck; and a peridot colored baby doll dress that took ten years off Sam's face and brought out her figure, still slim from years of military service and maintained workouts.

The mother and daughter left the shop with a feeling of accomplishment at their day's work. "So, lunch?" Abby asked.

"You buying, Abs?"

Abby smiled, "Have you been drinking today?"

"Come on," Sam slung her arm around her daughter's shoulders, grinning like a madwoman as they skipped down the street. "I wonder how Esther's doing."

"I'm sure she's fine, Mom." Abby reassured her mother. "Uncle Daniel and Uncle Teal'c were going to teach her how to kel'no'reem today. Something about being able to move on and release ones burden."

"Yep, that's Daniel for you. Always wanting someone to release something."

* * *

Jack spent the day with JJ, rummaging through his closet trying to find something suitable for a night on the town with Sam. "What about that gray sweater over there?" the boy asked, agitated that it was taking so long for his father to find something to wear. 

Jack looked at it, then at the pair of black slacks he already wore. The battle was half done! "No. It'll make me look depressing. I'm not Johnny Cash, I'm not going to a funeral, and it's _way_ too hot to be wearing sleeves. I know it's here somewhere…" Jack trailed off as he rummaged some more through the piles of clothes that he didn't know had accumulated through the years.

"_What's_ where?" JJ whined.

"The peridot button up that your mom gave me for Christmas right before she left," Jack muttered as he searched some more.

"You're going to wear a sixteen-year-old shirt on a date with Mom?"

"You got a better idea?" Jack's head popped up from the pile of clothes, one of his eyebrows raised in Teal'c fashion.

JJ grinned menacingly, "We go shopping."

"Ahhh!"

* * *

Sam wore the knee-length baby doll dress and was rather pleasantly surprised to find that Jack was wearing a peridot shirt and black slacks – the shirt the exact same color as her dress! JJ and Abby grinned as their parents looked over each other, relishing the reactions they gave off from the outfits. 

_Oh, the joys of being telepathic!_ JJ said silently in Abby's mind. His sister mentally giggled in reply.

"You look…really good," Jack said when he finally found his voice again.

Sam blushed lightly, "So do you." She raised her voice as she said, "JJ, Abby? Next time leave the shopping up to the two of us, please!"

"Sorry, Mom!" JJ replied. "Come on, Abs. Let's go see what's on TV while Mom and Dad ohh and ahh over our great tastes."

Jack snorted softly at his son's attitude as the two siblings trotted off down the hallway into their room. "Have they always been like that?"

Sam nodded with a smile, "Some days I felt like you were actually there with us when they would start acting out like that. There's so much of you in them."

Jack's smile turned a little sad, "Yeah. I missed out on so much with them. I don't want to miss out on anything else."

Sam smiled lovingly as her hand stroked his cheek, "You won't." They stood like that in silence for a long while, just gazing into each other's eyes. After a few minutes of eternity Sam broke the contest and asked, "So, where are we going tonight?"

Jack's face quickly sported the grin that said 'Wouldn't you like to know? But, no, I won't tell you because it's too much fun to not tell you and watch you're eyes light up when you see it for yourself.'

"Surprise."

As it turned out, Jack's idea of a surprise was having Daniel and Teal'c play 'baby sitters' while Caroline and Ferretti left to drive back to Colorado with a brand new baby in tow. Not to mention the wonderful Italian restaurant he took Sam to before going and watching a very elite ballet. All in all, it was the perfect way for the two of them to grow closer in love before the hearing the next day.

* * *

A/N: So? Like it? Please review! I'm really stressed out because I have dress rehersal tomorrow until 2000 hundred hours and I perform on Thursday and Saturday! I seriously won't be able to post again until Sunday at the earliest...unless the cast party goes 'til 0300 again...  



	14. Sentencing Hearing

A/N: Thank you all so much for your support. Now, here it is: the long awaited sentencing! Dun dun dun! Please tell me what you think.

* * *

_As it turned out, Jack's idea of a surprise was having Daniel and Teal'c play 'baby sitters' while Caroline and Ferretti left to drive back to Colorado with a brand new baby in tow. Not to mention the wonderful Italian restaurant he took Sam to before going and watching a very elite ballet. All in all, it was the perfect way for the two of them to grow closer in love before the hearing the next day._

The sentencing hearing came all too soon and all too late for Esther and her family. She sat in her wheel chair, having compromised with her Dad so she would be sitting in it until she went up to testify for the jury. Her long hair was brushed, braided and coiled into a bun on the back of her head (the handiwork of Caroline who was a hair-stylist), and her dress was a red, cotton summer dress that went down to her knees and had buttons down one side for easy dressing.

Abby was wearing a similar dress but in light blue instead of red. Abby and JJ paced nervously as they waited for the doors to open and the hearing to begin. Neither of them really wanted to be there, especially JJ as he could feel all of Esther's reservations – not to mention their parents' reservations as well. But at the same time, both of them _needed_ to be there. Esther had been right when she said that they had to close this chapter of their lives before they could open a new one as a whole family.

The lawyer presenting the state's case against Pete Shanahan came out and motioned to Sam and Jack that it was time to start. JJ wheeled in his sister into the courtroom behind his parents and Abby. Inside the courtroom was filled with personnel from the SGC, the Pentagon, and JJ was almost positive he saw the President himself sitting in one of the rows. Esther was wheeled to the front of the isles in the back, awaiting her turn to speak.

When the lawyer finally said that Esther O'Neill wanted to share her story with the jury, Esther was more than ready. With her speech in one hand, using the other to support herself, she slowly made her way to the podium she would be speaking from.

She looked at the twelve members of the jury, then at Pete; turning back to her father she found the strength she needed. Esther turned to the judge and started talking, not once looking down at her notes:

"My first memory is of being pushed down a flight of stairs by Pete Shanahan. I never found out the reason – but I know that I was two years old. I was three when my mother was finally able to get me and my brother and sister out of that house – and two states away from Pete. That didn't last for very long.

"I was first kidnapped by Pete when I was eight and still going to public school. I've never been able to dispel the nightmares he's caused me to suffer.

"When I was twelve, he kidnapped me on my birthday and when I was finally found he had vanished – and I had a concussion, two broken ribs and numerous other wounds. When I was thirteen he kidnapped me and when I was finally returned to my home after being raped beyond believe and endurance, I found out I was pregnant. The child, Destiny Hope O'Neill, died four days after being born prematurely on my fourteenth birthday – _right after_ Pete Shanahan kidnapped me and tortured me for two days. And now, just a few weeks ago, he tried to do it again.

"Look at the scars on my body to see what he did to my flesh. Look at the tombstone of my _daughter_ to see what he did to my soul. He is less than an animal because _no_ animal would do this to anyone.

"He is a Goa'uld and should be treated as one."

Esther turned to walk back to her wheelchair, but stumbled. Jack was instantly there to catch her. The gash on her back was covered in thick, white bandages that were very visible to the jury – along with the numerous other scars Pete had given her over the years. As Jack carefully sat her back in her seat, he could see unshed tears glistening in her eyes.

As the jury left for deliberations a short time later, Henry Hayes came toward the small family to check on how they were.

"How are you doing, Esther?" he asked gently as he stood before her in the small circle of family and honorary family (Teal'c; Daniel; Daniel's wife, Sarah; and Janet).

Esther gave him a half smirk and turned her head to JJ. Her brother nodded and answered Henry for her. "She's pretty high strung right now, sir. It was just difficult for her to actually admit to a lot of that happening."

Henry was confused, "First of all, why are you answering for her? Secondly, what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm telepathic, sir, and I share a mental connection with my sisters – she doesn't really feel up to talking any more until the sentence is brought back. And it's hard for her to admit to a lot of that happening because we spent so much time trying to help her get over it that it's bringing up a lot of old memories that are best left to die."

"Ah. Oh, look the jury's back."

The judge called the court to order once more. She turned to the jury and asked, "Has the jury reached a verdict?"

The spokesman replied, "We have, your honor."

"Read it."

"We the jury sentence the defendant to death – by the hands of Ba'al, the Asgard or any other means found satisfactory to the victims and President Hayes."

* * *

Ba'al grinned sardonically at the man held prisoner before him. 

"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" the prisoner asked desperately.

Ba'al's grin only grew; even though his treatment of this man was 'helping' the Tauri, after their help with the Replicators, he felt it was the least he could do to torture a rapist for them…after all, he'd like to think that they'd do the same for him. The Goa'uld inside of him said, "We were thinking castration…by acid." Ba'al seemed to contemplate something for a minute before adding, "But then we decided to let you have a taste of your own medicine…of course, with the power of the sarcophagus, we can do all this and more. Watching you die thousands of times before letting the pain end."

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? It's okay to yell at me for what I gave him as punishment. Oh, and tell me if you think the testimony was good or not. I really want to know.  



	15. Hockey

A/N: Thank you all so much for reviewing! The beginning of this chapter doesn't really fit with the rest of it, but I didn't have anywhere else to put it (if I put it at the end of the last chapter that would have been stupid). Thanks for your thoughts about the play - it went great.

* * *

"What are you saying, Henry?" Esther asked as she sat, vulnerable, in her wheelchair, looking at her boyfriend. 

Henry looked down at his hands, not wanting to do what he was doing, but knowing there was no way around it. "I'm breaking up with you, Esther."

Tears came to her eyes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall. Pete had been sent through the Stargate under the 'care' of Ba'al two days ago; things had seemed to be going fine – the Stargate was set to be revealed in a matter of months, her parents were starting to explore the relationship they were never allowed to have, her whole life seemed to be clicking into place…and now this.

"Why?"

"Because I don't care about you as much as I did before," he said plainly.

Anger surged through Esther's veins, it was a feeling she knew well. "So, while I was a sick, helpless, _vulnerable_ victim of Pete you could _stand_ by me – but now that he's gone you're _leaving_ me?"

Henry hated how cold she put it, but he couldn't deny it. "I'm sorry."

"Just go. And pray my mother has to move us back to Colorado Springs – or you can be certain something's going to happen."

Henry left in a saddened yet liberated state of mind. On one side he knew he'd miss Esther's company on long, lonely weekends; on the other side he knew that he wasn't what she needed or deserved. He never was.

Esther mentally called out to JJ to come get her while she thought about the abrupt ending of her relationship with Henry. It just didn't make any sense.

"You okay, sis?" JJ asked as he wheeled Esther into the living room.

"Peachy."

"You're worse than Uncle Daniel at lying."

"I know. It was worth a shot though."

* * *

"Hey, Abby?" Jack asked as he walked into the living room to find his youngest submerged in the wonderful world of _The Simpson's_. 

She looked up with a smile, "Yeah, Dad?"

"Do you want to go to a hockey game with me tomorrow? Daniel's taking Esther to the museum and Teal'c taking JJ for some Loc' Nell training."

"Sure. What time do you want to leave?"

"0800?"

"No problem."

The next morning, at precisely 0759, Jack was watching the seconds tick by on his watch. Just as the second hand marked the hour, Abby came flying down the stairs like a banshee. Jack smiled as he tapped his watch.

"Almost late."

Abby grinned at him, "You're watch is fast. Hey, if all of us are going to be out today, what's Mom doing?"

Jack shook his head, "She said it was a surprise and I'm not supposed to tell you. Come on, we'll miss the pre-game fun."

"…What pre-game fun?"

"Surprise."

The car ride was silent, neither really knowing what to talk about with the other, and not really caring if silence reigned supreme. Abby put her forehead on the window and watched the signs pass them by as her father drove along the interstate.

"Where are we going? This isn't the way to the stadium."

"What stadium? I haven't even told you who we're going to see play."

"Who, then?"

"Surprise."

Abby sighed, deflated in her futile efforts. "You always say that. For all I know you could be taking me to Canada."

"Who said I wasn't?"

"General O'Neill, sir!" the Airmen snapped to attention as Jack and Abby approached their positions near the waiting chopper.

"Airmen," Jack replied with a nod, saluting them in return. "Are we all set?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Excellent. Abby, after you."

Abby gave her father a quizzical look before stepping into the waiting helicopter. Inside the accommodations were sparse and the engine wasn't even on yet. As far as Abby was concerned, this was a very bad idea.

"Just keep walking, kiddo," Jack called from behind her. "We're going into the cockpit."

Abby stopped, turned and looked at her father with big blue eyes, "We are?"

Jack nodded, amused at her reaction, "Yes, we are. Now move!"

"This is so cool! Are we going to Canada?"

Jack chuckled, "No, sorry, not this time. You're mother would have me singing soprano for a month if I did that. Nope, but we're going to the next best thing."

"Minnesota?"

"Yep. I always knew one of you would have my brains."

"Are you sure you don't mean your love of hockey?"

"That, too."

* * *

The ride started out in silence, but when the chopper's altitude leveled off, Jack finally spoke to his daughter. 

"You don't know how sorry I am that I wasn't there for you guys. I should have been."

Abby looked at him curiously, "A lot of things should have happened, Dad. I stopped blaming you for not being there a long time ago."

"Then what happened at the hospital?"

Abby sighed, "I was…angry. Hurt, confused, upset. Mostly hurt that you hadn't shown up _one day_ earlier and Esther wasn't spared the pain of seeing Pete again. Angry that Mom _let_ it happen again. Confused because I usually get visions of important things that are about to happen and I had no warning of this. I'm sorry, Dad."

Jack furrowed his brow as he continued to fly, "What do you mean, your mom 'let' it happen again?"

"Right after we left Grandpa George's house, he gave us a…regiment really, of armed body guards. When Pete didn't show up for about a year and a half, Mom told him that we didn't need the protection any more. After Esther was kidnapped from school, Grandpa tried to replace the guards but Mom wouldn't let him. She kept on saying Pete wouldn't find us again. But he always did."

Jack's hand snaked out and squeezed his daughter's. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. I'm here now and nothing will happen to you while you're with me. Understand, Abigail?"

"Promise? You'll protect Esther, JJ, Mom and me."

"Always."

* * *

On the way back from the game – their team won – Jack contemplated a lot of things he needed to say to his daughter. Hell, he needed to tell all of them. But first, he needed to talk to her about what she'd said before. Sam had _allowed_ it to happen? 

"Abby…Did Pete ever hit you?" he asked finally.

She shook her head, "No. I was the one he could actually stand and liked – that was worse. Every day I'd see him push Esther when Mom's back was turned – or push Mom when she didn't have everything waiting _exactly_ like he wanted it when he got home. In those first few years JJ bore the brunt of Pete's attacks." Her eyes flickered to her father's, "JJ just looks so much like you, I guess. When Mom found out that Pete was beating Esther and JJ she left. It took a couple months but we left."

"Do you blame her for staying?"

Abby looked out her window and watched the trees and houses pass them by in the car. "Yes. I've tried to stop it, but I can't help it. She could have left at any time – she could have gone back to the SGC! And there we'd have been safe – still would be safe. But she let her stubborn pride get in the way and she refused to leave; even after he started beating her."

Jack pulled the car over to the side of the road before turning back to his daughter, "How do you still remember all of this? I thought it happened when you were a baby."

"It did. But I still get flashes of things from back then." She fidgeted in her seat as she continued, "I know that I shouldn't blame Mom for it – but it's her fault that Pete took Esther the first time."

"Don't you _ever_ say that again," Jack's voice was low and dangerous. "It's _not_ your mother's fault that Pete's an ass without a conscious. It's Pete's fault and he's paying for it every minute of every day. He _will_ pay for eternity. I'm sure your mother did all that she could to keep you three safe."

Abby turned away from him again, "I know she did. _That's_ what makes it so hard. I know in my heart that she did everything she could to keep us safe, _but_ go home. She's done everything in her power to keep us from you. And the worst part is – I don't know _why_. Maybe if I just knew why we've spent the last fifteen years on the run…" tears started rolling down her face silently as she brought her hands up to hide behind.

Jack snaked an arm around Abby's shoulders and pulled her close to him. "It's going to be okay, Abby. Nothing's going to happen to you now."

"Promise?" she whispered around the tears.

"Always."

* * *

A/N: So? Like my Abby/Jack chapter? The JJ/Jack chapter's coming up - hang on!  



	16. Career Choices

A/N: Grrrr! Why is it that **thirty-one** people have this story on alert and yet I only get an average of **six **reviews per chapter? Hmmm? How 'bout the fact that I only got FOUR for this last chapter?

* * *

_"Promise?" she whispered around the tears._

_"Always."_

Jack knocked on Hammond's office door at the Pentagon. "Enter!" he heard from inside.

Jack walked in and Hammond was sitting behind his desk, doing paperwork. He smiled at the much-needed break. "What can I do for you, son?"

Jack sighed and sat down, "A couple of things, actually. I want to have a look at Pete's file. Sam would have a damn good reason for letting him beat the crap out of her for four years – and I want to know what it is. Not to mention that he found them pretty easily."

"I thought you might," Hammond responded, grabbing a file from inside his desk. It was extremely thick. "Here you go, Jack. That's everything we've got on him – including parental behavior. Anything else?"

Jack took the file and put it under his arm, "Actually, yes. Esther told me that Tom's graduating college this year and he's looking for a job at a hospital as a nurse."

"Yes?" Hammond always found it humorous that the giant of a man would want to help people in the delicate field of nursing.

"Is he any good?"

"Good enough to be at the SGC."

"Think he'd like a job that'd be close to Abby when we move back there in the fall?"

Hammond's grin was very…interesting to say the least; "He'd marry her today if he knew she'd say yes."

"Excellent. I heard Janet complaining that we're short on help in the infirmary. Does Tom know about the SGC?"

"Not a thing. Abby's been very careful about what he's told."

"Good. Well, see ya, George – I've got to go get me a nurse for my daughter."

* * *

"Is this a joke? Because it's not a good one." 

Tom looked at the three men in front of him – two of which he'd never met before and the third he'd just recently found out was Abby's father.

Daniel shook his head, "No joke. The statement revealing the existence of other planets and part of the Stargate program will be released in exactly five days."

Tom was still dumbstruck, "And you want _me_ to be a part of it?"

Teal'c nodded, "Indeed. Your physical strength as well as your training in the medical field would benefit the SGC greatly."

His brow furrowed, the young man just thought in silence for a few minutes about what they were asking him to do. He'd be close to Abby – plus. He'd have a job – plus. It'd be important – plus. But how much would they pay…

"You'll get hazard pay if we bring back anything harmful through the 'Gate. And your normal pay is twice what you'd make otherwise," Jack answered the unasked question.

"And if I say no?"

He looked directly into Jack's eyes and saw something in them that made him shiver in fear and respect the man even more. Jack replied without taking his eyes off the younger man, "Was that really ever an option?"

"Would I ever have to go through the Stargate?"

"Depends. Not often, no, but if there's an emergency off world and they needed a Med-Team, possibly."

The next question was one that Tom was rather concerned about asking and getting the answer to; "Can I date your daughter, sir?"

Jack's smile was scary, "I was wondering when you'd ask."

Teal'c continued further, "What are your intentions with young Abigail?"

Tom looked at the giant of a Jaffa and cocked his head; most men would be terrified of Teal'c…but he reminded Tom of Tom's grandfather who'd raised him after his parents abandoned him. "I would _never_ hurt Abby. I only want to make her happy."

Daniel looked impressed, "Nice answer."

"Can I go now? I'm still on the clock."

Jack smirked with mirth, "Sure, kid."

To all those who didn't know Tom it looked like he was just walking out of the room like he would on any other day. To those that _knew_ him – he was scared out of his mind; and it showed.

* * *

No one in the Carter/O'Neill household was particularly sad to leave Washington. The only person they'd really miss was Hammond – and he was coming with them in their move back to the Springs. It seemed that with the statement declaring the existence of the Stargate, President Hayes wanted all his top people near to it in case something went wrong. He'd deal with having tele-conferences with the SGC and the occasional holograms and instantaneous traveling provided free of charge from the Asgard High Council after the Tauri kicked the 'replicate' out of Replicators. 

Esther, Abby and JJ looked at the empty house they were leaving one last time. It had never really felt like home to any of them…perhaps Colorado Springs would…

Through the rather long and boring flight on the US military issue plane Esther tried her luck at kel'no'reem while Abby and Sam slept. JJ and Jack stared at each other for a long time. Jack was finding every single similarity between his second son and his first, as JJ was trying to figure out the man behind the mask.

Jack finally got tired of it and motioned for JJ to get up and follow him to the back of the plane. The boy, knowing no other course of action that would be appropriate, did.

"What?" JJ asked, his voice and posture proclaiming how unconcerned and aloft he wanted to appear. For someone who knew him well enough, though, he was very concerned and interested in what his father had to say.

Jack shot him a look, "You can read my mind, right?"

"If I feel like it, yeah." What kind of question was that? The boy was a freakin' _telepath_ for cryin' out loud!

"Can you read your mom's mind?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Jack put his hands deep into his pockets in a show of nervous energy. "I think she knows something about Pete that will help us catch the people who were financing him."

JJ scowled, closed his eyes and tried to probe his mother's mind. On the surface he found thoughts he expected to find…but when he moved deeper through the layers – into her thoughts near the subconscious level, he found what he was looking for.

"Someone named Barrett. There's a man called Kinsey. Another named…Bauer. Threats on her life. Threats on your life. Threats on our lives. Someone threatened torture for Abby and Esther – living hell for me."

JJ's eyes opened and he gazed soulfully into his father's deep brown eyes that matched his own. "The NID was backing him with the support of Senator Kinsey and General Bauer. They wanted…something. I'm not sure – she wasn't thinking about it."

Jack swore underneath his breath. This went higher up than he'd hoped it did. Unfortunately for Kinsey – _he'd_ found his kids _and_ Sam and Jack had no intention of ever letting them go again.

"Thanks for checking, JJ. Come on, there's really comfortable seats back here."

In the sudden change in topic, JJ discovered that they actually weren't on a standard issue plane – but actually on one of the old Air Force One planes that only flew the president for about two months.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you that night," JJ said suddenly after the father and son had been sitting in silence for almost half an hour. "I was high strung already and seeing you wasn't what I was expecting."

"It's okay, JJ," Jack replied, playing with his soda can, "I wasn't exactly expecting to see any of you guys either. I think we're even."

JJ nodded, "Okay. Thanks."

"No problem."

A few silent minutes later Jack spoke again, "So, what are you planning on doing with your life?"

JJ smirked and thought of the most evil things to tell his dad about his career choice. "Well, I want to go to Annapolis."

Jack stared, petrified at his son, "You want to go to the _Naval_ Academy?"

JJ nodded, "I want to be a Marine."

"But…but…Holy crap!" Jack could barely string two words together after that shocking announcement. It was almost as bad as JJ saying he wanted to become a male stripper. IT WAS WORSE!

"A _jarhead_?"

JJ shrugged, "Better than being a flyboy."

* * *

A/N: So? Does it earn you taking just one more minute out of your busy lives to send me a review? I'd really appreciate it.  



	17. Back Home

A/N: Okay, if all I had to do to get more people to review was complain about the disproportionate stats - I would have done it sooner! Anywho, I hope you all like this chapter, it may be the last one for about a week - I have to de-leaven the house for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.

* * *

At the SGC, Jack's first order of business was to call the Tok'ra and tell them to get Jacob on Earth yesterday. After that he had to take care of the business of running the mountain while Daniel, Teal'c and Sam showed the triplets around.

Esther was still confined to her wheel chair, and being pushed by Teal'c when a young man came bounding down the hall, "Father!"

Teal'c released the wheel chair to embrace Ry'ac, "Ry'ac. When did you arrive on Earth?"

"A few hours ago, Father. Who are these with you?" the young Jaffa looked at the triplets and their mother carefully. "Major Carter? It is good to see you again."

Sam smiled warmly at Teal'c's young son, "It's good to see you, too, Ry'ac. These are my children, Esther, Abby and JJ."

"There is much of O'Neill in them," the man said softly.

"Yes, there is." Ry'ac caught hold of Esther's gaze and held it for a few seconds before he let his eyes drop. "May I accompany you on your tour of the mountain?"

"Sure can, Ry'ac," Daniel said happily. He wasn't oblivious to the look Esther and Ry'ac had shared…and he knew very well that Henry had broken up with Esther a short while before they moved back to Colorado Springs.

The tour ended in the commissary – much to the delight of the chiefs and horror of everyone eating in the commissary when the group came in. There was another mini-Jack! And a mini-Sam! Wait…who was that third one in a wheel chair? She looked like she could be Jack and Sam's daughter…

"Would you like something to eat, Esther?" Ry'ac asked politely as Teal'c wheeled the girl next to a table.

She smiled swiftly, wondering why he was acting so…flirty with _her_ of all people. "Blue Jell-O would be great, thanks."

He bowed his head, "And you, Abby?"

"Red Jell-O, please."

Ry'ac nodded again and went off to fetch the desserts – much to the dismay of the commissary staff who had stopped displaying blue Jell-O after Sam had left sixteen years before and the sight of it made Jack morose. Luckily they still had a stash in the back that they kept stocked just in case.

"Thank you, Ry'ac," Esther said as the goblet of blue Jell-O was placed in front of her. Sam was having the same, and JJ his beloved German chocolate cake. All the heads in the commissary were turned toward the group as they consumed their desserts of choice.

This was how Jack found them all when he walked in with Jacob in tow. It _was_ humorous to see thirty odd people staring at the seven seated at the back table. One of the funniest things about it was that the people being observed had eyes for nothing other than the desserts they were consuming as if none of them had had sugar in a year. Jacob couldn't help himself – he snorted.

Sam looked up and met her father's laughing eyes. Without waiting to explain to any of her children, she leapt out of her chair and crossed the floor of the commissary in a few bounds to hug the life out of her father.

"Dad," she whispered as she hugged the Tok'ra tight. "I've missed you so much."

Jacob hugged her back with equal love, "I've missed you too, Sammie." When the father and daughter finally pulled apart JJ, Abby and Esther were standing (and sitting) next to Jack a few feet away.

"Jake," Jack began softly, "I'd like you to meet your grandchildren. This is Abigail, JJ and Esther. Kids, this is your Grandpa Jacob and his sn– erm, _symbiote_ Selmak."

Jacob stood there mutely as he looked at his equally mute grandchildren. Finally his head bowed and when he looked back up, Selmak spoke. "Jacob is currently unable to speak. He is very happy to meet you all at last – the pictures General Hammond gave us were not adequate depictions of any of you. We are both very pleased to meet you all."

His head bowed again and this time Jacob had tears glistening in his eyes. "Hi."

"Hi," Esther answered in an equally small voice.

As the tearful reunion took place, Ry'ac, Daniel and Teal'c were quietly emptying out the commissary of unwanted witnesses. Abby surprised them all, including herself, by taking the few steps that separated her from her grandfather and hugging him for all she was worth.

She breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent as he held her in his arms. As she finally let him go after an eternity spent in his arms, Abby opened her mouth to speak. But before she could get the words out, a light engulfed the family and they found themselves aboard an Asgard ship.

"Greetings, Dr. Carter. General O'Neill."

"Thor!" Sam said happily. She hadn't seen the little, gray alien in some years – ever since she found out that there was nothing really wrong with her children ten years before. She wasn't able to risk going back to General Hammond to talk to Thor again.

"What's up, Thor?" Jack asked as the triplets got used to being up in space for the first time in their short, sad lives.

"I have the information you requested, O'Neill," the alien replied as he moved a stone on the consol in front of him. A map of the USA appeared on the terminal above the consol. Five red dots were oscillating in different areas on the map. "The oscillating points are the locations of the peoples in question."

The dots were located at various places throughout the States, but it made Esther sick to look at. Each dot was located in different places they had lived during their lives.

"Oh, God," Sam said as she turned away from the screen, "What is that?"

"The people associated with Pete Shanahan, Dr. Carter," Thor replied.

Esther looked down at her hands morosely; the action was caught in the vision of Jacob and he wondered briefly why this would upset the girl so much. Selmak reminded him that the bandage on the girl's back was from a wound inflicted on her by Pete.

"Are you saying that those red dots indicate the people who _knew_ what Pete was doing and did _nothing_ to stop him? They were _helping_ him?" Esther's voice was low and very dangerous. JJ could feel the anger pulse out from his sister and sent her calm, reassuring thoughts to dispel the dangerous emotion.

Esther's anger was so strong that it was felt not only by Abby and JJ – but also by Sam and Jack as well. Jack turned sharply to his daughter and looked truly scared. "Esther, is that you?"

She sighed and glanced up at him before looking back down at her hands, "Sorry. I can't help it right now. The blood of my baby isn't just on Pete's hands – it's on theirs'."

"It's okay, Esther, justice will be met," Jacob tried to consol her.

Without answering her grandfather, Esther turned to Thor, "Thor? Can you beam them up here from where they are?"

"Indeed." A few brief seconds later, the four men and one woman who had been backing Pete up now stood in the Asgard ship.

Jack's eyes widened in horror as he saw the woman. "_Kerry_?"

Kerry looked at her ex-husband in surprise, "Jack! What's going on? What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here?"

"You're aboard an Asgard vessel, Kerry," Thor responded.

The four men and the woman looked with concern at the very angry teen in the middle of the room. "_You helped him?_ You bastards!"

"What are you talking about?" one of the men asked. Jack recognized him as one Agent Barrett working within the NID.

JJ, just as upset as Esther, was the one who answered with two words; "Pete Shanahan."

All of them went pale as a ghost as Esther continued her tirade, "All that time he was torturing me – _you_ _helped_ _him_! When I thought I could just hate him because he was doing it all to me – you deserve twice as much hate because you _let_ him! I should kill you all right now."

Jack put a restraining hand on his daughter's shoulder. "It's okay, Esther." Abby had gone suspiciously quiet and when Jack looked at her the rage on her face would have been evident to a blind man.

"What I want to know," Jacob said calmly and quietly. Everyone who knew him also knew that Selmak was keeping Jacob's emotions in check. "Is what you have on my daughter to make her do what she's done for the past sixteen years. What do you _want_?"

Kinsey was the one who answered – unafraid and arrogant as usual – "Control of the Stargate."

"I believe I told you, Senator Kinsey," Thor said agitatedly, "That the Asgard would cut off all communications with Earth and the Tauri if you attempted to remove O'Neill from power in _any_ way."

"I think you're bluffing," Kinsey said pompously. "We have stuff that you want."

Sam looked at him in disgust, "What makes you think _anyone_ would work under you?"

Kinsey looked at her with a straight face, "_You_ did."

Without taking her eyes off Kinsey Sam said to Thor, "Is there any planet without a Stargate close by where we can dump them?"

"Sustaining life or not?"

"Sustaining," Sam's eyes were dark and cold, "I want them to live to remember _everything_ they miss and I want them to _die_ remembering."

"Very well."

* * *

A/N: So? Will you guys forgive me enough to send a review? I made this chapter EXTRA long for you guys! Anywho, PLEASE review, I'd really like to know what you all think of the 'little surprises' I put in here.  



	18. Starting Over

A/N: So, I was thinking about this story...and I decided - since this is the last chapter and all - that I'd be nice and post it today instead of on Sunday. SO BE NICE AND REVIEW! Ahem, I mean, if you want a sequel, that is.

* * *

_"Sustaining," Sam's eyes were dark and cold, "I want them to live to remember __everything they miss and I want them to __die remembering."_

"Very well."

When the six of them arrived back at the SGC, no one said a word. Esther wheeled herself to the room she had been given to use at the SGC. When she got to the door, she looked at the key in her hand, then up at the slot far above her head. She looked down the corridor both ways, seeing only a SF on duty.

Choosing not to bother him, she released the card from her grasp and used her telekinesis to open the door – right as Ry'ac turned the corner.

"Esther? What!" he shouted as she started to close the door. Esther left the door open and wheeled herself next to the bed, waiting for the Jaffa to enter her room.

"How did you do that?" he asked as he shut the door.

Esther smiled apprehensively; for some reason, she cared what this man thought. "I'm telekinetic. I can move things with my mind – I just have to be able to see them."

Ry'ac accepted this with a nod. That seemed plausible enough; after all, he was a Jaffa and had heard of _far_ stranger things than a girl being able to move things with her mind. It was real magic – not the trickery the Goa'uld used.

"So…how do you like Earth?" Esther asked after a pregnant silence engulfed the room for a few minutes.

Ry'ac bowed his head, "Your planet is very…diverse."

She snorted, "That's the nice way of saying we have a lot of stuff that you don't agree with and a lot of different religions when your planet only has one."

A faint smile appeared on his face, "That is one way of putting it. Your world has many good things that mine lacks, but mine has far less evil."

"Evil is in the eye of the beholder."

"Not so. Evil is a deliberate action that harms others physically, mentally or spiritually. The actions themselves cannot change from being evil or not – but the reasons behind them can change."

"Is that your way of telling me that even though my father has killed and done many evil things it doesn't mean he's evil?"

"Subtle?"

"No. Anyway, I don't blame my father for what's happened to me. I put the blame where it belongs – with Pete."

"Indeed?"

* * *

Sam knocked on Jack's office door, surprised when the SF told her that was where she'd find him. 

"Come!" she heard the muffled bark from inside the door.

She opened it up and peered inside. Jack was sitting behind his desk…doing _paperwork_? Sam blinked in confusion, thinking her eyes were deceiving her. "Jack…"

"Yeah, Sam?" he said without looking up.

"Have you seen Esther?"

"She's in her room, why?"

"Just wondering. Hey, wanna go out to dinner tonight with Dad, the kids and me?"

At that, Jack looked up. "What?"

Sam smiled slightly, and said with a sigh, "Dinner, tonight, me, Dad, the kids?"

"That's what I thought you said."

"So? You coming?"

Jack grimaced, "Do I have a choice?"

"Not if you don't want to wake up singing soprano tomorrow."

The General was aghast with horror, "Fine. When are we leaving?"

"In fifteen minutes," Sam said with a smirk. Once upon a time it would have been Jack telling her that it was dinnertime and therefore time to stop working.

"Let's go get the kids, then."

* * *

Esther laughed in a way she hadn't done for as long as she could remember. It felt nice to be able to just forget who she was supposed to be and just be herself. Ry'ac let her do just that. They had only met a few hours before, but she already felt like she'd known him for years – and he'd known her for years. 

Ry'ac, himself, had similar feelings of exhalation and freedom. Ever since his mother had died, he'd never been very comfortable in the company of a woman besides Major Carter. They all reminded him too much of what he'd missed. But when he was with _this_ girl, Esther, he felt like he was whole again.

There was a knock on the door and before either of them could move from sitting so close together, Sam and Jack walked in.

Esther's cheeks went red with embarrassment as she watched her father and mother survey the situation. Jack looked between Esther and Ry'ac, his eyes staying with the latter, "Somethin' you want to tell us?"

Ry'ac looked at Jack with his father's infamous blank stare, "I do not believe so, General O'Neill. Esther and I were just discussing different aspects of Earth culture that we find humorous and absurd."

Sam tried to suppress her smirk, but did a poor job of it; within a few seconds both Jack and Sam were doubled over in laughter.

Esther couldn't help but smile as she chastised her parents, "What's so funny?"

Jack continued to laugh as he said, "Both of you! Oh, God, that's funny. I just don't think we expected you to make friends with a Jaffa, that's all."

Ry'ac did not take this comment lightly, "What is wrong with the Jaffa, O'Neill?"

"Nothing, Ry'ac," Jack said, sobering up quickly along with Sam. "It's just that with who Esther is…well, you two are complete opposites, that's all."

Ry'ac raised his eyebrow (a trait he picked up from his father); "So are you and Dr. Carter, O'Neill."

* * *

"Ow," Esther said as she felt the prodding of fingers on her sore back. "That's _hurts_, Aunt Janet!" 

Janet winced in sympathy as her fingers continued to work, "Sorry, Esther, but this is the only way for me to see how bad the surface damage is. I wasn't there when you got the scar – how am I supposed to know how to fix it?"

Esther growled low and primal in her throat, glad beyond belief that her parents had taken both of her siblings to the Beta Site for this doctor's visit. She preferred going through the embarrassment alone – with no one who could pity her.

"Let me try," the deep voice of a symbiote said from the doorway.

Esther was pinned down on the bed by Janet's hand, but she could hear the shock in Janet's voice as she said, "Selmak. I didn't know you were still here."

This time it was Jacob who answered, "I'm sorry, Dr. Fraiser, I thought you knew I was staying until Saturday. Now, is there anything my symbiote and I can do to help my granddaughter recover from her injury?"

Janet was hesitant to acquiesce to Selmak and Jacob's request, but when Esther made the decision for her, she had little choice but to comply.

Jacob put the healing device on his hand and turned it on, looking over his granddaughter's injuries. Selmak inwardly mourned for what the girl had gone through, telling Jacob that it was a good thing Pete was in the hands of Ba'al. Pete was lucky Selmak and Jacob had been on a mission when the trial was held.

A short eternity later, the hand device turned off and Esther did the first thing she wanted to try: she sat up. Her eyes were wide with relief and joy as she recognized the absence of the pain that had been with her so long.

"Grandpa," she said tearfully as she got off the bed and hugged him tight. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear.

Jacob was too emotional to answer. First; General Hammond told him that they'd finally found Sam – and she had three nearly grown children. Then; Jack tells him that Sam and the kids had gone through hell and back at the hands of this scumbag, Pete. Next; he was reunited with his daughter after _sixteen_ years of separation while at the same time meeting his three grandchildren. Finally; he saw and healed the physical injuries inflicted by Pete onto Esther's body. And she was grateful. It was just too much for the old Tok'ra symbiote and host to handle.

* * *

"I hear The Land of Light is nice this time of year," Jack said conversationally one night, a few months after they had returned to the SGC, while he and Sam were roaming the halls of the SGC long after their healing children were asleep. 

Sam acted interested, "Oh, really?"

Jack kept up the game, "Yes. I hear it's a very nice place to hold all types of parties: birthday parties, anniversary parties,…engagement parties."

Sam stopped dead in her tracks, trying to figure out what the man in front of her was really saying. "What?"

Despite protests from his aging knees, Jack knelt down before Sam and fished out the ring box he'd purchased seventeen years before to give to the woman in front of him. "Samantha Carter? Will you marry me?"

Sam looked down at the ring, then back up at Jack, tears in her eyes as she realized the implications of all he was asking her. She opened her mouth to respond but only a croak came out.

Jack quickly reassured her, "Before you say anything, I just want you to know that I've already asked your dad, your brother, Teal'c, Daniel, JJ, Esther, Abby _and_ General Hammond. All of them told me to go for it…so now I'm asking you. Marry me."

Sam smiled through her tears, "Yes," she said as she flung herself into Jack's awaiting arms. "Oh, God, yes!"

It was there, in the dimly lit halls of the SGC, at some godforsaken hour of the night when Dr. Samantha Carter and General Jack O'Neill decided _not_ to be foolish concerning love any more.

Fin

* * *

A/N: So? What think you all? Don't worry, I am planning a sequel, but it may be a while. I'm still working on _Conception_, but time to write is very scarce now that I'm nearing TESTING TIME! Ah! Eeek! Arg! And any and all other weird onomanopeitic words that would apply. 

Please review.


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